MICHAEL BEALE reported for Rangers duty as normal on Thursday morning and is not in Rome on transfer business.
The Ibrox boss sparked hours of speculation after posting two pictures from the Italian capital on his Instagram page earlier today.
It was assumed that Beale was on the continent to speak to a potential summer recruit or to scout a target at the Europa League clash between Roma and Feyenoord.
But it is understood that the Englishman is still in Glasgow and that the snaps he uploaded were taken on a trip earlier this month.
Beale saw his side see off St Mirren on Saturday and has taken training all week as he continues his preparations for the Premiership clash with Aberdeen this weekend.
Beale will be in the market for several key reinforcements in the coming weeks as he seeks to transform the squad he inherited from Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
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That work will now be undertaken without the assistance of Ross Wilson after he made the move to Nottingham Forest earlier this month.
But Beale insisted in an interview with talkSPORT on Wednesday morning that he is comfortable with the position Rangers find themselves in heading into the window.
He said: “This group has given me what they can and we’re probably four or five players away from being where I want us to be.
“That’s nothing against the players that are playing just now, it will just make us stronger.
“Certainly the first part of the season next year, with hopefully the Champions League, if not, definitely the Europa League, we’ve got 14 or 15 weeks of three-game weeks, and it’s fair to say our squad needs more variety and depth and I want us to play with more pace and energy.
“Obviously Ross Wilson moved on last week but a lot of the plans have been in place since I came here in November.
“It’s something we’ve been constantly talking about every day, if you like because we were so close in terms of here at the training ground.
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“Now Ross has moved on I’m leading that and I’ve been away speaking to some players over the last couple of days and it’s something that’s constantly ongoing in the background.
“I think in the short period right now, it may suit me better than someone coming in in the middle of the work that we’re doing.
“I feel like I’ve got really good support from John Park and the recruitment staff. A lot of the work’s been done, it’s now executing it. I’m quite fussy, I like to go and meet the players and see them face to face.
“That’s how I did it with Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell. It wasn’t just the business men, if you like. I like to see these boys and sit in front of them.
“I’ve been away doing that in the last few weeks. Every day off and moment in the schedule that allows I’ve been travelling to meet people along with Ross and I’ll continue to do that on my own.”
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