What does Postecoglou Celtic exit mean for Rangers and Michael Beale?

Michael Beale still has the same target and the same ambition. He must, without question or excuse, beat Celtic to the silverware next season.

But it will not be a Celtic side guided by the man that Beale saw lift three trophies this term. Ange Postecoglou is now a former adversary rather than the boss that stands in Beale's way.

The departure of Postecoglou adds further intrigue to what was already shaping up to be a captivating, competitive campaign and has altered the state of play across the divide.

Celtic's adversity, if you can call it that, can provide opportunity for Rangers. It is one that Beale must now make the most of as he attempts to turn Rangers from challengers into champions in the space of one season.

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In some regards, the Aussie can be an inspiration for Beale. From the rubble of the failed bid for ten-in-a-row, he swept up a squad that was not fit for purpose and transformed them into a relentless winning machine with just one transfer window to work in.

Beale has more experience and knowledge of his club and the game here than Postecoglou did when he arrived and that can now be put to good use. He will face a new foe next term, but he should not fear whoever lands the top job at Parkhead.

The loss of Postecoglou must be seen as a significant setback for Celtic. The club has been moulded in his image, the squad and the team built in his name over the past two terms, and Celtic would rightly have been favourites to make it three-in-a-row had Tottenham Hotspur not come calling.

For many, the champions will still be huge favourites to retain their title, and rightly so. Celtic are still the ones to beat in the Premiership as it stands.

The technical ability of the squad is matched by their mentality. It is a group that knows how to win and that has a track record of doing so, but a new manager brings change, perhaps uncertainty, and there is no guarantee that the next incumbent will simply pick up where Postecoglou has left off.

Players will have their own questions that they want answered. While time is not – thanks to the automatic qualification for the group stages of the Champions League – as tight as it could have been in a European sense, the need to be ready to hit the ground running domestically adds its own pressure at Parkhead.

The door has now opened further for Beale and the situation is one that the Englishman can capitalise on as he continues his preparations for his first proper shot at the top flight silverware.

Beale has enough on his plate at Ibrox to worry too much about what is going on across the city but there will, of course, be an interest in who will stand in the opposite dugout to him and how the Parkhead squad will evolve over the summer.

When there are only two horses in the race, you simply cannot have blinkers on and refuse to keep an eye on the opposition. Now Rangers will hope they can burst out of the gates.

The signings of Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling and Jack Butland represent an encouraging start to the summer for Beale. Jose Cifuentes, the Ecuadorian midfielder, will follow and the acquisition of a striker, or more than one to be precise, will soon become the priority as the Ibrox squad is overhauled.

Beale has been planning these moves since the day that he was appointed and took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst last December. This window is his moment, his big chance.

Rangers will continue to move at pace but with a plan. The exits of Ibrox stalwarts like Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos will not be the last ones of the summer and the squad will be younger and hungrier, trimmed down in number but bolstered in terms of quality, by the time that Beale is finished with it.

Rangers have gone through their turnover off the park already. John Bennett now oversees the club from his position as chairman, while James Bisgrove is the day-to-day driver after he was named as chief executive officer.

There is stability and enthusiasm at boardroom and executive level. In the dressing room, Beale will seek to raise standards, alter mindsets and strive for the success that has eluded Rangers so often in recent seasons.

Beale can work his way through his checklist with the support from above and those around him. Pre-season preparations are being finalised and Rangers are in a state of calm rather than flux.

A few miles down the road, it is all change at Celtic Park. The coming days and weeks will determine how much of an impact Postecoglou’s exit has in terms of planning, but it will take months for the true scale of the changing of the guard to manifest itself on the park.

Rangers must be ready to make the most of any stumbles early in the season. Beale was always going to be under pressure to produce a strong, statement of intent start to the campaign but that need and demand has only heightened in light of recent events.

Rangers need to ask questions of the new Celtic boss and his squad. They will, of course, have it all to prove themselves as Beale continues to search for players with the right mentality as well as the requisite ability.

Come the end of the window, this will be his team in every regard. He will have had the time to settle back into life at Rangers and in Scottish football and benefitted from the backing of the board to make the key calls and spend the budget as he sees fit.

Beale’s record against Postecoglou did not make for encouraging reading and Celtic are the dominant force at present. Past glories are no guarantee of future success, though.

Now Beale is the one with the Old Firm experience and the situation is intriguing in so many aspects heading into the new season. The sands have shifted and Beale has been dealt as good a hand as he could have hoped for at this stage of the summer.

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Rangers will need no reminding of how quickly fortunes can change in the ongoing Old Firm battle for supremacy. Within months of their Invincible title win as 55 was lifted, the snowball effect that saw Steven Gerrard leave and take Beale with him to Aston Villa ultimately handed Celtic the advantage that Postecoglou would grasp on his way to five trophies out of six.

That will give Beale encouragement that Celtic can be overcome rather than just being caught and the onus now is on Rangers to continue building for the future in the belief that the speed of their progress will see them close the deficit as quickly as possible.

Nothing stays the same for long in Glasgow. At a time of change, the most significant one would be Rangers having their name on the silverware once again.