Michael Beale insists that he is fully focused on trying to get promotion for QPR despite being touted with a move to Rangers and Wolves.
The 42-year-old rookie manager has got off to a brilliant start in the English Championship in his first role at the helm after successful coaching stints at Liverpool, Aston Villa and Ibrox, with the club currently sitting fourth in the table. There has been plenty of speculation suggesting Premier League Wolves have Beale on the shortlist to replace the sacked Bruno Lage.
Gio van Bronckhorst has come under mounting pressure at Rangers after some heavy defeats in the Champions League while trailing Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. Former Ibrox tactician Beale is still revered by punters who heralded his work as Steven Gerrard's "brain" during their three-and-a-half years in Govan. QPR take on Cardiff City at Loftus Road on Tuesday looking to keep up with the pace-setters, with Beale fielding questions on his future ahead of kick-off.
He said: “I have been surprised by the amount of noise, and try not to look too much. But even family and friends and people that know you start asking.
“I had a really honest face to face conversation with Les Ferdinand on Monday. The club has had no contact, I have had no direct contact either. It is the media writing the stories.
“It is my first job at QPR and I couldn’t be happier with the way it is going with the owners, staff and players. And I am in a great place in my personal life with my family as well.
“The outside noise is not that important and the only thing I can draw from it is that as a club we must be doing quite well.
“And I can take confidence from that. But my focus Is on a huge game tomorrow and getting back to positive ways after a really disappointing day at Luton at the weekend.
“That is what I have been carrying around with me, not this stuff. I want there to be noise about QPR, our players, myself and the management team. I just don’t want the noise to break anything that we are building inside, because that is really exciting. I see the stuff about Wolves and that is a compliment to all at QPR.
“With the stuff about Rangers you have to be very careful about that. Giovanni van Bronckhorst has done a fantastic job in the time he has been there.
“He has won a cup and got to a Europa League final, so I am not talking about that. And I have no right to talk about the Wolves job because there has been no contact.
“The people here have given me a big opportunity . Listen, you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow.
“We have been riding the crest of a wave and doing well at QPR. If results go the other way, the life of a football manager is up and down.
“In the future I have huge aspirations, I have always been honest about that, to go and coach and work at the top level, and we are honest about that with our players too and their aspirations.
“But we only live in today, that’s what I have. And I have a wonderful job with owners that support me, a really strong management team that are 100 per cent with me.
“Those things are a gift for a manager. It’s obvious that the players here want to go and play in the Premier League and I want to manage there – and Europe and above also. But you deal with today, and today I am the manager of QPR. I try not to listen too much to nice things said, it’s what I would tell young players - don’t get carried away, or too high or low.”
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