Michael Beale is now odds-on to become the new Rangers manager.
After Gio van Bronckhorst paid the price for falling nine points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and a disastrous Champions League campaign that means the Gers are the worst ever group stage side, attention has now turned to who will be the next man in the Ibrox hot seat.
Beale is no stranger to the dugout in Govan. He was an integral part of Steven Gerrard ’s coaching team as the Light Blues went unbeaten in 2020/21, winning a first league title in a decade.
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He was even labelled the brains of the double act that delivered that most soughtafter championship.
That they prevented Celtic from sealing an historic ten-in-a-row at the same time just made it all the sweeter to those in the blue half of Glasgow.
That success didn’t go unnoticed though, and Beale left along with Gerrard and assistant Gary McAllister when Aston Villa came calling just over a year ago.
Beale has since made the move into management away from Gerrard. He left Villa Park in the summer to take over at Queens Park Rangers. It proved a shrewd move, with Gerrard and McAllister getting the sack from the Villains in October this year.
Beale has made an impressive start to life in the top job. QPR’s results prompted Wolves to offer him the chance to replace Bruno Lage, but Beale rejected the job at Molineux.
Since then, the London club have dropped out of the play-off places in the Championship and a move to Ibrox could appeal to the Englishman.
He’ll know most of the current squad very well and just how much pressure comes with being manager of Rangers. He has more experience than Gerrard did when he took over, although doesn’t have a playing career at the very top level to call upon when it comes to performing on the biggest stage.
Rangers fans seem to prefer a return for Beale. And the money has flooded in on him to replace GVB. He’s gone from 4-1 to 4/6, with former boss Gerrard the outsider at 22/1 according to BoyleSports.
Next permanent Rangers manager
4/6 Michael Beale
7/2 Sean Dyche
8/1 Gerardo Seoane
10/1 Kevin Muscat
10/1 Gennaro Gattuso
10/1 Kjetil Knutsen
12/1 Ralph Hasenhutl
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