Glasgow Rangers have appointed 42-year-old English head coach Michael Beale to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the dugout at Ibrox.

The former Gers assistant manager has joined at an almost perfect time as the break for the 2022 World Cup has offered an unprecedented chance for teams to work on their shape and tactics, with the players who are not involved in the competition.

Borna Barisic is the only first-team squad member in Qatar with his country and this means that the boss has the majority of the squad available to him.

Beale can now work with the group and put his ideas across to them in the next few weeks ahead of the return to action against Hibernian in the Premiership on the 15th of December.

He will need to re-energise the group and find a way to turn the form around after inheriting a side that is currently nine points off the top of the table in the Scottish top flight.

Pundit Michael Stewart, whilst speaking on BBC Sportscene, claimed that the Light Blues were missing an "X-factor" on the pitch during van Bronckhorst's tenure. 

Beale could now find the missing X-factor by giving talented 19-year-old attacking midfielder Alex Lowry a chance to stamp his mark on the first team this season.

The teenage gem broke into the senior squad last term and caught the eye with one goal and one assist in three Premiership outings towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

However, he suffered an injury in the early stage of the current season whilst playing for the B team and only made one appearance, in the Champions League, for Van Bronckhorst's side after returning to fitness.

Beale must now unleash him from the start in the Premiership as the gem has the potential to be the missing spark in the final third. He has showcased his quality in possession with seven goals and one assist in 10 matches for the B team this season from a number 10 position.

The Scotland U21 international, who reporter Joshua Barrie claimed is “step above everyone else” at youth level, is a player capable of producing moments of brilliance in matches.

Journalist Graham Falk dubbed him a "proper talent" and described his goal against Celtic for the B team as an "absolute worldie", which shows that he has the capacity to provide special strikes.

Lowry, who can play on either flank and in the middle of the park, has also been hailed as "carefree and gallus" by Scottish coach Andy Goldie and this suggests that he has the flair, with his statistics backing up his quality, to provide what Rangers have been missing in the Premiership.

Therefore, Beale must start the Ibrox academy prospect against Hibernian to see if he can step up to the first team and prove to everyone that van Bronckhorst was wrong not to give him more opportunities this season.