Fashion Sakala reveals lack of Rangers ‘respect’ from Michael Beale as teammates stunned by brutal Ibrox axe
| The Herald | December 12, 2023 |
Fashion Sakala has revealed his heartbreak over his Rangers exit – with Michael Beale giving him the cold shoulder without an explanation.
The striker moved to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Fayha during the Londoner’s summer rebuild. After moving to Glasgow from Oostende in 2021, the forward became well-liked within the support and was part of the side that reached the Europa League final. He also won a Scottish Cup while at Ibrox, and the boss who ended his Scottish spell was sacked by October.
“When we had a team meeting, my answers were not allowed to be published. People started asking if I was there in pre-season. I was there from the beginning to the end. It was a hard one to take for me.
I stayed without training with the club for almost two weeks. I think I deserved much better, I deserved to be respected at least. I understand you want to sell me to get money to buy new players, that is fine.
“But let me just be part of the team, let me say goodbye nicely to my team-mates. When I received a call that I shouldn’t go to the training ground anymore, I didn’t see any of my team-mates anymore. It was hard to say goodbye in such a bad way to people who looked after me so well – Tavernier, Goldson – I had to talk to them on phones when it was time to leave.
“Even if there was a club that wanted to buy me, I could have at least been respected a little bit and leave the club in a good way. Rangers was a club that I felt was like my home and receiving that treatment was so hard for me.”
On his deteriorating relationship with Beale and Rangers exit overall, Sakala added: “That was the hard one. When I was coming back for the new season, I thought the coach would trust me. and want me there for the new season. He didn’t talk to me about anything or any transfers.
“He clearly showed me that I wasn’t part of his plans without telling me anything. The time I received a call from Mick Beale was when he told me not to come to the training ground anymore. That was hard to take for me because I didn’t do anything. Players leave clubs but they are not told not to go to the training ground, not told not to be part of the team.
“It was hard for them to believe that I wasn’t allowed to go to the training ground anymore. It was sad the way I said goodbye to Rangers, it is very sad. I know the fans didn’t understand the role they were playing with me, but they really helped me a lot.
The favour I wasn’t getting from the managers, I was getting it from the fans, I was getting it from the players. I was pushing myself every day and working hard every day to do it for them because when I do it, I knew they would be very proud of me and would be singing my song and pushing me.
“They played a bigger role for me there than some of the coaches I worked with at Rangers to be honest. “For me, the fans were more important than some of the coaches there. Except Gerrard, he was special.”