Michael Beale should now land Rangers job as Ibrox developments move fast
Michael Beale is in pole position to become the new Rangers manager and should now get the job, according to The 4th Official.
The former Ibrox assistant had made his interest in the job clear before Giovanni van Bronckhorst was sacked on Monday (21 November) after the Gers board sounded him out.
Loftus Road director of football Les Ferdinand made clear later on Monday that he would not block the 42-year-old’s exit [Daily Record], and according to reliable online source T4O on Patreon that “should” now happen.
Speculation had ramped up when Steven Gerrard’s former assistant made a visit to Ibrox while Van Bronckhorst was under pressure, for the 4-1 win over Aberdeen on 29 October.
He gave a diplomatic interview a week later where he didn’t do much to distance himself from the job, and there is now “no doubt” that he is the front runner.
T4O makes clear that there is as yet no complete guarantee that Beale takes over, but “there is no question that he is in pole position to land the job”.
Moving fast
The delay to start the World Cup break gave the impression that Rangers were of a mind to stick with Van Bronckhorst, giving him the benefit of the doubt for a massive injury list.
But with how quickly things have moved since the Dutchman was removed from the job it is becoming clear that they were instead lining things up to install a replacement as soon as possible.
Why they allowed the now former manager to conduct a sit-down interview with Sky Sports from the training ground just three days before he was removed is therefore a valid question.
But it looks as if the planets are aligning for Beale to return to the club just over a year since he left with Gerrard to head to Aston Villa.
He has a major job on his hands to lift the spirits within the squad and improve results, if he does indeed end up in the hot seat.
And there may be some doubts that he can immediately do that, given his QPR side’s recent run of form has seen then drop from top of the English Championship to seventh.
He was part of the greatest triumph in recent Bears history, but unfortunately things haven’t moved on enough since then and the job to repeat that may be somewhat harder now.
In other Rangers news, sources have revealed a clash between Van Bronckhorst and senior players that helped lead to his demise.