Michael Beale has rejected the chance to leave QPR for Wolves, leading to the Premier League club announcing that their interim manager, Steve Davis, will remain in charge until 2023.
Wolves made an official approach for Beale on Thursday having identified him as their preferred candidate to succeed Bruno Lage after Julen Lopetegui turned down the job. Beale has decided to stay at the club he joined in June, with QPR top of the Championship after Wednesday’s home win against Cardiff.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhones or the Google Play store on Android phones by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
The 42-year-old is in his first managerial post and told QPR club media on Thursday: “Wolves is a fantastic football club and it was a real privilege to be asked to speak to them, but I didn’t think it was the right moment because I entered into an agreement here.
“Integrity and loyalty are big things for me, and if they are the values you live by you have to be strong. I have been all-in here and I have asked other people to be all-in so I can’t be the first person to run away from the ship. I don’t think we are anywhere near where I want QPR to be. We have a lot to do but I’m excited by it.” Beale held talks with QPR’s chief executive, Lee Hoos, and director of football, Les Ferdinand, into the early hours of Thursday before deciding to decline the opportunity from Wolves to enter formal discussions.
Wolves also considered bringing back Nuno Espírito Santo, who was keen on returning to the job he left in May 2021, but decided to go in a different direction. So ultimately the club have decided to stick with Davis, who has so far taken charge of three games, two of which have been defeats, away to Chelsea and Crystal Palace, with a home win over Nottingham Forest sandwiched in between.
“In the short time Steve and his team have been in interim charge of the first team, we have already seen improvements to the group, with the players responding well to their methods and the changes they have started to implement,” said the Wolves chairman, Jeff Shi. “We have no plans to rush our search for a new permanent head coach and will not compromise in any way our approach to appointing the person we believe to be the perfect fit for our club, our squad and the role of head coach at Wolves.”
Wolves could eventually turn to the former Borussia Dortmund and Lyon manager Peter Bosz, whom they interviewed before pursuing Beale. The hierarchy also sounded out their former under-23s coach Rob Edwards and the former Olympiakos manager Pedro Martins. All three are out of work after being sacked this season.
