Beale calls for killer instinct as Gers face Motherwell

Michael Beale wants to see a more ruthless Rangers against Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday lunchtime.

The Light Blues go into the cinch Premiership match having booked a Scottish Cup semi-final place against Celtic with a 3-0 victory over Raith Rovers at Ibrox last weekend, after healthy wins over Kilmarnock (3-1) and Hibernian (4-1), albeit they remain nine points behind the Hoops at the top of the table.

However, the Gers boss is on the lookout for more.

Beale said: “It was a completely different game that Raith gave us in terms of problems to solve.

“Even after we scored the first goal, it didn’t change their resolve. They sort of stayed there.

“We had 24 shots in the game and 18 corners, so what you could say is, can we be a bit more ruthless in the boxes?

“It wasn’t a lack of getting into the right areas. In our last away game at Hibs, I think we had 31 shots, so we’re certainly not struggling in terms of our output in the final third.

“Then it’s just a matter of our quality, which is something that we’re working on for sure.”

Indeed, Rangers’ better performances under Beale have come away from home – particularly the impressive wins at Hibs and Hearts – and he is looking for the same sort of approach against a Motherwell side who have pepped up since Stuart Kettlewell took over from Steven Hammell last month.

Former QPR boss Beale spoke about the key to good away performances, saying: “A lot of clean sheets away from home. There’s been a mixed bag in terms of a little bit of everything.

“There’s been some free-flowing football at times. There have been some really good defensive performances as well, where we’ve used the counter-attack really effectively.

“So we’ve managed to find a solution to the problems that we’re facing.

“We go away to Motherwell this weekend, they’re in good form similar to when we went away to Hearts and Hibs in the last couple of big away games.

“Stuart’s done really well since he’s gone in there. They’ve had a pick-up. He was manager of the month.

“They didn’t play last week, so they’ve had their eyes on us for a little while now and we look forward to the game.”