'Pulled in different directions' - Sunderland boss Michael Beale explains Rangers failure

Why didn't it work out for Michael Beale at Rangers? The new Sunderland boss has offered an explanation.

Michael Graham | Dec 19, 2023

'Pulled in different directions' - Sunderland boss Michael Beale explains Rangers failure /

New Sunderland boss Michael Beale has hinted that he believes having responsibility for transfer thrust upon him unexpectedly was the reason for his failure at Rangers.

Beale was confirmed as the new Sunderland head coach on Monday, just two months after his sack from the Scottish giants.

He was certainly not a popular figure among the Rangers supporters, despite an impressive win percentage on the surface. There were complaints about the quality of the football they played and his inability to reign in Celtic during his time there.

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However, in his first interview as Sunderland boss, he has suggest that the loss of Ross Wilson as head of recruitment at Rangers in April was the main reason for his struggles there, as it resulted in him having to step into the breach rather than focusing solely on coaching.

"Well I went into QPR as a head coach, and originally went into Rangers in the same role,” Beale told safc.com.

“There was a lot of changes with people leaving, and I got pulled in different places.

The thing that I’m really comfortable here is the alignment through the club, my role being in line with that as a head coach and having an opinion and an idea on other aspects of the club, but I want to be the coach of the team, not the manager of the whole football club.

“So this was a good fit in terms of alignment, the conversations were very smooth, there was a lot of common ground and I’m just looking forward to getting ready now, with this and the exciting future of Sunderland."

Beale will be expected to work in a very different way at Sunderland, with him having very little input into transfers at the club.

Watch Michael Beale's first interview following his appointment as our new Head Coach.

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Instead, he will be expected to focus solely on coaching and developing the players he is given, and that’s something he says is right in his wheelhouse.

"I’m a hands-on coach, so I’m on the pitch every single day,” he said. “I need to drive it, I need to show that energy and that passion, I need to ensure that the team are a team for the fans, in terms of the work-ethic and what they want to see.

“As I say my background has been on-field coaching, that’s where I’m at the best, on the pitch with the players, and I’m determined to lead from the front in that aspect.

“I’m coming into a staff that are liked - there’s one or two people in the staff that I’m familiar of from our past in academy football coming through - and I’m looking forward to tapping into the good work that’s already been done."

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