Michael Beale has made one of his strangest comments yet as Rangers manager by suggesting some of his new signings are ready to struggle at Ibrox.

The boss, speaking on the eve of the new season starting, was covering the Fashion Sakala and Glen Kamara situations, which we’ll get to later, but it was what he said about his new (or was he meaning all) boys that was a bit startling.

He said:

It is true that we take his quotes with a pinch of salt but this really is an utterly absurd comment. ‘As long as they get in line’. ‘A bit uneasy’?!

But the gum shield comment is probably the weirdest one yet.

He’s probably saying that some of the new players are going to resist his methods, and that’s an unprecedented comment for a Rangers manager to say. And it wouldn’t fit for it to be a pro-active boxer metaphor, because of the line that preceded it.

These players signed for Rangers and Michael Beale because of his vision, how he sold himself and the club to them.

To now say he reckons he’s going to meet with some resistance when it comes to implementing his ideas is utterly bewildering.

We urged a reset button and to judge the man and his Rangers rebuild from this weekend onwards, and we stand by that assertion, but he’s not helping himself with the stuff he spouts at times.

Beale has 5 or 6 days to get something that works for Rangers, to get the team firing on all cylinders – because Killie is coming up fast and preseason was a total disaster in all honesty.

He is clearly feeling the pressure of that – sink or swim time Michael.