New Rangers assistant coach Damian Matthew has detailed his strong relationship with Michael Beale after moving up to Glasgow to follow the Light Blues boss on his next managerial journey.
After sacking Gio van Bronckhorst late in November, Rangers ramped up their efforts to sign Beale after his superb spell under Steven Gerrard 's reign was cut short as a result of the latter taking up the Aston Villa job little over a year ago. With Gerrard gone from the Midlands helm and Beale acting as QPR manager, the stars had aligned for the vacancy - and despite turning down Premier League side Wolves just weeks before, Beale was appointed after a 13-month hiatus from Ibrox.
With him is Matthew, who was Beale's assistant in his time at QPR as they dragged the squad to sixth prior to the World Cup break; and had it not been for a poor run of form following the links to Wolves, Beale's side were in the automatic spots for the place in the Premier League. His qualities in the dugout are well-known both below and above the border; and Matthew believes that his relationship with Beale for over two decades can bring good things to the blue half of Glasgow.
"I've known Michael for a long time but working at Queens Park Rangers was the first time we physically worked at first-team level together. It has been an excellent five months. There have been some really good highs, there have also been a couple of lows as well and in that spell it's about knowing how to deal with that, how to keep sticking to your beliefs," Matthew told RangersTV.
"He's had the experience himself here before - yes it's going to be different for him as the manager and he understands that. We are here to support him and give him every chance of being successful.
"We've been friends for well over 20 years, and when we say friends it's also big debates that we have like you would do in a coaching team now. That's what I think sets him apart and why, as coaches, you enjoy working with people who challenge you and we're here for a fantastic challenge.
"The way Michael works in terms of the training is he is a really hands-on coach, really hands-on manager which is excellent because I think the players see the energy and the drive that you need daily. He does that very well. We obviously help, assist but then also the best part for me as I've gone through my coaching career - coming from that youth background to now - is looking after midfielders, so I'll predominantly look after midfielders.
"That was the position I played in so I have that understanding of what it takes but it's great for me to be working with the likes of Steven Davis. Again, I was lucky enough to play for the under-21s but not the national so again, Scott Arfield as well - all these players that have got international experience.
"That's one of the strengths as the coach is to try and bring out their experience to help all these younger players developing as well."
