A new era at Glasgow Rangers is set to get underway later today, with newly-appointed manager Michael Beale set to take charge of his first game following his return to Ibrox last month, with the 42-year-old having replaced Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the dugout.
The highly-regarded Englishman – who previously worked at the Old Firm outfit as Steven Gerrard’s assistant – has been tasked with trying to revive the club’s fortunes following an underwhelming start to the campaign, with the Gers currently nine points behind rivals Celtic in the title race.
Although it will likely be a sizeable task trying to close the gap on Ange Postecoglou’s rampant champions, Beale will likely be more concerned with simply getting off to a positive start this evening, as the Light Blues return to Scottish Premiership action following the recent World Cup break.
The Glasgow giants are set to host Hibernian in what will be an intriguing start to the new man’s tenure, with the 42-year-old boss hoping to quash any potential doubters by securing a positive result.
One area of concern for the Bromley-born coach, however, will be the shortage of left-back options, with the club currently without summer signing Ridvan Yilmaz due to injury, while the experienced Borna Barisic is yet to return from international duty with Croatia.
With doubts also over the fitness of Ben Davies – who can line up in that full-back role if required – Beale may well have no other option but to turn to teenager Adam Devine for what would be just his fourth senior outing for the club and his first league appearance this term.
The 19-year-old – who typically lines up at right-back – has staked a claim for a starting berth following his promising display in the recent friendly triumph over Bayer Leverkusen, having been praised by his manager after that 3-0 victory:
“The academy staff have played Adam at right and left-back. Sometimes having a right-footer at left-back means they play inside the pitch more – Jon Flanagan did it well for us a few years ago.
“I’ve got a lot of trust in Adam, we always had high hopes for him when I was here before.”
The player himself – who has been lauded as a “powerful runner” by Craig Vickers in the past – has insisted he is more than ready to meet the challenge of making his league debut, having stated:
“Am I ready to face Hibs? Definitely. Saturday was a big game for me to show what I can do. Obviously with the injuries and with Borna being at the World Cup, it’s a great opportunity.”
That confidence will no doubt be refreshing for both supporters and his fellow teammates, with the young Scotsman clearly keen to make a good impression after having been on the periphery during Van Bronckhorst’s tenure.
It may well be something of a gamble as far as Beale is concerned to play such an inexperienced figure, although such a move could well help to quickly get the home crowd on his side, while also solving the big issue that is the lack of senior alternatives.