Former QPR boss Michael Beale makes surprising ‘same coach’ admission after Sunderland sacking

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Michael Beale will not be remembered fondly among the Queens Park Rangers fanbase.

Michael Beale is a name familiar to fans of English football after the former Rangers boss’ spells in charge of QPR and Sunderland.

Earlier in the summer, EFL Analysis exclusively revealed that Beale was on Cardiff City’s shortlist to become their new head coach before the eventual appointment of Brian Barry-Murphy.

Cardiff moving on to another target has kept Beale out of work since his Sunderland sacking in February, after a short-lived stint as Tony Mowbray’s successor.

The Scotsman rose to prominence in football following his spell at QPR in the Championship, which was curtailed by his dubious exit, and now Beale has made a surprising admission regarding his time as R’s boss.

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Former QPR boss Michael Beale makes ‘same coach’ admission

After being appointed as QPR manager in the summer of 2022, Beale guided the R’s to the top of the Championship table during his first stint in charge of a senior side.

Beale’s side won only once in his first five matches, but then an impressive run of form saw QPR pick up eight wins from their next 11 league outings to fire the Loftus Road outfit to the second tier summit.

In October of that season with QPR at the top, Beale was reportedly approached by Premier League Wolves to become their new manager, but turned down the opportunity.

Only weeks later, Beale left QPR for Scottish giants Rangers, where he had previously worked as an assistant coach under Steven Gerrard.

Now, after his ill-fated stint as Sunderland boss lasted only three months, Beale is ready to return to management. And, by his own admission, he is “the same coach” he was at QPR.

Beale told the Daily Mail: “I am still the same coach as when I was flying (as QPR manager). I miss the feeling of day-to-day management of a football club.

“But, in the last year, family has been more important. It was very important to be there, certainly while my niece was going through her treatment (for leukemia).

“I wanted to reflect on the fact that there are other parts of being a manager. I went from being top of the Championship with a lot of interest in me, going to Rangers with even more. That’s why I have needed this year off to make sure I am better prepared next time.

“If you had interviewed me when I was doing well at QPR in the Championship, I would say naivety is my best strength.

“There have been several opportunities to get back into it, including an international job to go and manage at the World Cup, but it has to be right for my career.”

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Why QPR fans dislike Michael Beale after move to Rangers

There were few problems on the field for QPR fans to complain about during Beale’s tenure, but his comments about “loyalty” were short-lived.

Following the Wolves job speculation, Beale told QPR’s media that he rebuffed the Molineux outfit’s interest in him because he valued “integrity and loyalty”, only for him to then exit for Ibrox just over a month later.

In October 2022, then-QPR boss Beale said: “There’s been a lot in the background and it has been a difficult few days for me.

“When I joined the club in the summer, I found an ownership that was really honest about what they wanted and were giving me my first opportunity to be a manager.

“I took that task on with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement and they enabled me to recruit some players I really wanted to work with.

“It is the aim for me to go and work in the Premier League, like it is for all of our players, and the idea is to try to go there ourselves as a group. If we are doing well, there will be speculation or a temptation.

“Wolves are a fantastic football club and it was a real privilege to be asked to go and speak to them but I didn’t think it was the right moment because I entered into an agreement here and integrity and loyalty are a real big thing for me.

“I have been all in here and I have asked others to be all in so I can’t be the first person to run away from the ship.”

Beale could well be hoping to return to management if any early strugglers in the EFL pull the trigger on their head coach, although those comments and his calamitous time at the Stadium of Light will always follow him in football.