Beale looking for players to step up and become leaders

Michael Beale is looking for players to “step up into leadership roles” next season following the departure of Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield and others.

Veteran goalkeeper McGregor, 41, and 34-year-old midfielder Arfield, along with Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Filip Helander, have played their last games for the Ibrox club with their contracts expiring this summer.

Robby McCrorie took over in goal from McGregor for the trip to St Mirren on Saturday where Arfield came on as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 cinch Premiership win thanks to a double from Fashion Sakala and close-range effort from substitute Antonio Colak.

Beale will revamp his squad to challenge champions Celtic next season and told RangersTV that he is now looking for new leaders.

He said: “Robby has come in and we’ve seen no change in terms of him coming in as a young goalkeeper taking over from someone like Allan, who has been a stalwart for many years.

“I want to mention him and Scott because we’re losing a lot of experience and standards, so I’m expecting one or two others to step up now.

“That’s the message to the group, those two players have been there and seen it at this club, played in the Premier League, and we’re going to need one or two others to step up into those leadership roles.”

St Mirren achieved their highest league finish since 1985 – sixth – albeit they failed to win any of their last seven fixtures with five defeats and two draws, which meant a potential European place was ultimately out of their reach.

Manager Stephen Robinson, however, put a tough end to the season for the Buddies into context.

The Northern Irishman said: “Maybe people only remember the last few games but I want people to remember just how close we took Hearts – (2-2) a club much bigger than ours – and how close we took Celtic in every game we played them.

“We have fallen short for Europe but that’s understandable. It’s a building block, and I think the fans appreciated that.

“My job is to run the football club prudently to make sure we don’t get into the debts we had previously but also try to build a successful squad.

“That is the challenge and it’s one we are right up for and I will get plenty of support.”