It's fair to say that Rangers have had a frustrating start to the season in the Scottish Premiership, already sitting four points behind Celtic, having lost two of their opening four games, including the most recent Old Firm derby.
On top of the league results, Michael Beale's side were also smashed 7-3 on aggregate by PSV Eindhoven in Champions League qualifying to end their hopes of competing among Europe's elite this season.
The Gers' start has put pressure on Beale to turn things around and prevent Celtic from winning a third consecutive Scottish Premiership. Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie has delivered a damning new claim on the manager, however.
What did Frank McAvennie say?
Speaking to Football Insider, when asked how many games Beale has left to turn things around at Rangers, McAvennie said: "Just a few games, if anything. People are saying they have got to get him out now because they can’t have another season winning nothing.
“They have got the League Cup to go for, that could be his saving grace, whether that is going to pacify the fans because it was not Rangers that put Celtic out. The break has come at a good time for them.
“After getting battered by PSV I thought the best game to come back in would be a big game against your rivals with 50,000 fans behind you and they put in a performance like that, that is why fans are annoyed.“
Of course, it is worth noting that, when it comes to Rangers, the opinion of a former Celtic striker is likely to be taken with a pinch of salt, rather than a serious verdict on Beale's future. But, the manager's start to the season has been poor, and there's no doubt that the pressure will begin to mount and their former rival's words hold some truth.
Should Rangers sack Michael Beale?
Just four games into the season, sacking Beale would be a harsh decision from Rangers, who may not even find themselves an adequate replacement in the current managerial market – the current trendy link is Birmingham City's John Eustace.
The former Queens Park Rangers boss has lost twice in four Scottish Premiership games, but given that one of those came against a tough Celtic side, he deserves time to turn things around.
What will disappoint those at Ibrox is the manner in which Rangers were dumped out of the Champions League, smashed 7-3. It must be said once again, though, that PSV were no easy test, and the Gers were always the underdogs in that fixture.
It is worth remembering that Beale only became the Rangers manager in November of last year, which means that he has had less than a year in charge. So, if Rangers did sack him now, they would be doing themselves no favours – they would only be restarting the process that Beale has been attempting to get going since last season.
That's not to say that he hasn't overseen some disappointing results as of late, but defeat against the champions and one of the best Dutch teams should not warrant the sack.