Some new comments from Leeds United journalist Phil Hay suggest that some of Michael Beale's Rangers players were not fully fit during his time as manager earlier this year.
Philippe Clement replaces Michael Beale at Rangers
The Gers went into the new Scottish Premiership season hoping to narrow the gap between themselves and rivals Celtic, but it was clear early on that there were problems in the camp.
Beale was under pressure to get some positive early results in the campaign, but instead they stuttered on the pitch, slipping up against the likes of Kilmarnock and Aberdeen, not to mention being dumped out of the Champions League by PSV Eindhoven after a 5-1 defeat in the Netherlands.
Rangers decided to relieve the 43-year-old of his duties in early October, with a change badly need in the Ibrox hot seat, and Philippe Clement has come in as his replacement, steadying the ship and picking up some important wins.
The Gers are still eight points adrift of Celtic in the league table but have a game in hand, and the club feels in a happier place than it did a few months ago, with the decision to get rid of Beale a good one.
One player who Rangers lost during the summer transfer window was Glen Kamara, who moved south of the border to join Leeds United.
Worries over fitness of Kamara at Rangers
Speaking on The Square Ball Podcast [via Leeds United News], the reliable Hay praised the fitness level of Glen Kamara in Leeds' 1-0 win away to Leicester, hinting that there were concerns about his fitness levels coming from Rangers, when Beale was of course in charge:
"Really strong, really good at disrupting what Leicester were trying to do. Got both sides to his game. The fact he hadn’t been involved at Rangers was one of the reasons why it took so long to go through.
"Leeds were in two minds over whether he would come down here and be lacking in fitness that would have stopped him contributing to the season. But that hasn’t looked like a problem, he looks really fit."
It's fair to say that Beale wasn't a popular figure with Rangers supporters by the time he was sacked and replaced by Clement – interestingly, Beale has the second-highest win rate (72.1%) of any Gers manager in history – and Hay's update will only add fuel to the fire.
Matches
43
Wins
31
Draws
4
Losses
8
While there is no guarantee that the Englishman was failing to get his players in the best possible shape at Ibrox, there are certainly suggestions here that that was the case, hence Leeds' reluctance to make a move for Kamara, who had largely been collecting dust under the former QPR boss.
Ultimately, Beale was out of his depth as Rangers manager, considering the size of the job, and he has still predominantly made a name for himself as a coach, impressing at Liverpool and always being admired by Steven Gerrard, who once called him an "expert".
