Michael Beale has reflected on his 11-month stint in charge of Rangers and his subsequent downfall at Sunderland.placeholder image
Michael Beale has reflected on his 11-month stint in charge of Rangers and his subsequent downfall at Sunderland. | Getty Images
Michael Beale was sacked after an unsuccessful 11-month stint at Rangers
Former Rangers boss Michael Beale believes his disappointing stint as manager of the Ibrox club continued to haunt him at Sunderland as he reflects on his career as a coach so far.
Beale worked as a coach at Chelsea, Liverpool and Sao Paulo before getting his first big break as assistant coach to Steven Gerrard at Rangers. The Bromley-born coach was seen as central to the team’s success under the former Liverpool skipper and worked closely with Gerrard and Gary McAlister as the Light Blues secured their 55th league title in the 2020/21; ending a 10-year-wait for a top-flight title while also finishing the season unbeaten as well.
The 45-year-old followed Gerrard to Aston Villa after he agreed to join the Premier League club but was quickly thrust into the spotlight in June 2022 when he was offered the No.1 job at Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
Beale started brilliantly at Loftus Road and was even approached for the Wolves job in October just months into his tenure in the capital. Upon turning down the opportunity to become manager at Wolves, Beale spoke about integrity and loyalty in an interview for the QPR website: "Integrity is a real big thing for me and loyalty. You don't give it to receive it back, but if those are the things you live by then at times when you are put in a position you have to be strong by them."
But just a month later as results began to tail off at QPR, he was presented with an opportunity which he felt was simply too good to turn down as he became the manager of Rangers.
What went wrong for Michael Beale at Rangers?
Michael Beale won all of his first four matches at Rangers to win the Manager of the Month in December 2022. That momentum increased fan optimism of a league title but successive defeats to Celtic ultimately meant that the team would finish the season trophyless despite obtaining a total of 92 points.
Rangers brought in a whole host of big-name stars to try and bridge the gap between themselves and the Hoops but ended up falling further behind, with Beale being dismissed in October 2023 after a run of three losses in seven games left them seven points adrift of the champions.
Reflecting on the experience, Beale admitted it was tough not to have Gerrard and McAlister to learn from. He explained, via Daily Record: "It certainly is different being the assistant at Rangers to the main man. I had Gary (McAllister) and Steven (Gerrard) to lean on for three years. I had only been away 11 months when I came back up from QPR but I knew 80 per cent of the squad. Giovanni van Bronckhorst had done a very good job so the first question I had to the board was "Why?".
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"I went back in, we started well and it just took off. But the difference between being a coach and a manager is it's just different. My focus had been entirely on coaching up until that point but then all of a sudden I was knocking out eight to 12 interviews a week immediately after you play.
"Sometimes I was very emotional and honest. You have to learn very quickly. If you are coaching in front of 52,000 people it is hard to switch off all your emotions. You have to be highly competitive. You have to have natural enthusiasm.It is hard to switch that off and come and speak to all the media within 10 minutes of the game.
"With a few more grey hairs now I am hoping to improve on it. There are mistakes I have made. We all make mistakes, it is part of being a human. I would not be the coach I am now if I hadn't decided to take leaps the leap to leave Chelsea to go to Liverpool at the start of my journey, to go to Sao Paulo (he was the first Brit to work in Brazil's top flight).
"I am someone who will make mistakes because I am willing to make big decisions. I was proud of a lot at Rangers, the win percentage was strong, we went in so far behind but had more points than Celtic in that period. But a lot changed."
Michael Beale believes poor Rangers stint ‘followed’ him at Sunderland
In an attempt to revive his managerial reputation, Michael Beale jumped at the chance to return to management when the Sunderland job was offered to him in December 2023. However, his stint at the Stadium of Light was disastrously short-lived, with Beale only winning four of his 12 matches before being axed from the position in February 2024.
"Sunderland was difficult for my family, maybe it was too soon after Rangers and a little bit followed me from one place to another. But now I am ready. I speak three languages I am not sure I can get you and I out of a hostage situation, but I can coach,” explained Beale “The life of a football manager lacks stability but I think I am at my best when I am at a place for a while, building relationships over time and building belief. The future has to be about stability and with that I have confidence in my ability to do well."
Beale has been out of management since leaving Sunderland more than 18 months ago although he did work briefly with Gerrard again at Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia for two months before the pair were ultimately dismissed from their posts.
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