Rangers manager Michael Beale spoke to the assembled press this afternoon.

Here's everything that he had to say. 

Injury update?

Connor (Goldson) went off last weekend so he’s a doubt.  Everybody else is fine, no one's coming back into contention so obviously with a positive result last week, we go into the game in good spirits. 

Ryan Jack contract extension? 

When I came back,  I assessed the squad and Ryan’s a big part of our squad behind the scenes. Obviously he’s a national team player and a home grown player with a lot of experience. He’s been available for over 80% of games since I've come back in so there's a lot of questions about that without it being the reality of what's actually played out. I think he performed really well again last weekend, and really well for the national team in the last break and I'm delighted he's staying around for a bit longer. 

 

Any update on stories linking Rangers to Jose Cifuentes?

(The deal) is not that close, if I'm honest. These things pick up speed in the papers. He's a good player but his contract runs till December. That seems a long long way away.

READ MORE: What Jose Cifuentes could offer Michael Beale?

What did the win over Celtic do for the club? 

It’s obviously a happier place when you win a big game. The fans and players enjoyed the game. It proves a point in terms of making mistakes in other games, missing chances in other games and we had more possession in the two previous games. The players worked really hard and Rabbi Matondo and Fashion Sakala’s pace was a real problem for them. Every player in our team performed well last weekend but we don’t want to go too overboard and we know what stage of the season it is. 

In terms of the three games remaining, do you use them to give youngsters an opportunity and allow other players to say goodbye? 

After the weekend we will formally let everyone know the players are leaving. In terms of the young players, we’ve lost Bailey Rice and Zak Loverlace to international duty and other players will come in. There’s players that need an opportunity as we’ve got 16 players to get through the last three games.We want to end the season well. There is a core of players that will move us forward.

There’s a huge gap between the top two and the rest of the league, do you wish there was more competition? 

It’s difficult for teams to stay close when you play them three or four times a season. If you were only playing everyone twice then there’d be a chance for other teams to go on a really good run. That’s not for me to decide and the structure is in place because everyone thinks it’s the best thing for Scottish football. At times, we’ve seen strong performances outside the top two, Hearts have played well but maybe the season caught them up. Aberdeen are on a good run and Hibs are unbeaten in four games.

Did last week give heart that you’ve got a good base to build on for next season? 

When the sun is shining on your face and you get a good result then everything feels better. When the wind is in your face and everything rubbish - that’s the life of a football manager in this city. I’ve always said there’s a good core but there will be change and you try to improve in certain areas. Last week was a decent performance but it is important we don't get romantic over one result. People have had all season to show everyone if they should be involved or not. 

Do you feel John Souttar could be a big player for you moving forward?

Yeah, I do. We’ve toyed with going to a three at the back because of how John’s trained. He needs to show that he can stay fit and healthy. We will add into that area in the summer with Connor, John, Ben (Davies) and Leon (King). We will add to our athleticism and power in that area and that area was damaging to us earlier in the season with injuries - only Leon has been constantly fit.

Did you always expect Todd Cantwell to make a big impact? 

With anyone of Todd’s ability on the ball, if they work as hard out of possession then it’ll be hard for fans not to take them to them - that’s the key message. I was speaking to our B-team recently and they always talk about nice things with the ball but he’s surprised with his work ethic. It’s clear to see that we have a good player but it’s very early on in his Rangers career and he needs to underline that next season. I’ve been delighted with him and our personal relationship is really strong. 

Any further conversations with Malik about his future? 

It was a nasty injury. It was a twelve injury and he went to Bayern after we did the scans here. He was back to get his award last weekend and he’s back for our presentation this weekend - probably thinking that he’ll get one more. We’ll have a chat and Malik explained exactly where we are recently. 

How important is it to start your recruitment process early? 

We obviously brought in Nico (Raskin) and Todd (Cantwell), so I was delighted with that. We were close to doing one or two other things that are much easier to do in the summer. Other teams were fighting for promotion and relegation so they were reluctant to sell. I had some guarantees from the board when I arrived in November about my ideas for the future and nothings changed with roles changing - if anything, I feel strengthened. It’s going to be a big summer and the fans will want to see new players. 

James Tavernier will make his 400th appearance on Sunday, how important has he been and will he be, moving forward? 

When I came into the club, James had inherited the captaincy and he kept it. He became more of a captain in terms of his performances on the pitch. Around the building, there were other players equal to him in terms of driving standards. Now five years later, he’s a completely different boy in a different stage of his life. He’s a different kind of leader and he’s really important. He’s one of the three or four who will stay this summer, who have seen a lot of this club. 

The SWPL title race will be decided this weekend with 10,000 tickets sold for Ibrox, what do you make of it? 

It’s the title race that everybody wants in the men’s game. I’ve seen the women's game grow and I started coaching in the women’s game when I was in the academy. I’ve seen our club grow and grow, we’ve won the league and played in the Champions League under Malky (Thomson). This weekend is vitally important for our team to win because the least thing that can happen is Champions League qualification, which would be huge. If we win, and win well, then we can win the league and be in the Champions League. It’s really exciting for women's football in Scotland and an exciting final day.