Beale will be in charge of the EFL Championship club on a three-year contract and will succeed Mark Warburton whose contract expired at the end of the season.
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In a major development, Steven Gerrard’s assistant manager Michael Beale leaves Aston Villa to become the head coach of Queens Park Rangers. He will be in charge of the EFL Championship club on a three-year contract and will succeed Mark Warburton whose contract expired at the end of the season. A further announcement regarding Beale’s backroom staff will be made in due course, a club statement added. Despite making his first foray into management, the 41-year-old has earned the respect of the people he has worked with so far. Beale has also had a hand in developing promising young English talents like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mason Mount and Declan Rice.
“It’s fantastic to be here,” Beale told www.qpr.co.uk. “I’ve been looking for the right opportunity and I think I have that now – the right club, the right people, the right ambition and the right support. I’m a London boy and know everything this club stands for. This is a wonderful opportunity for me and a really good time for the club as well. I’ve been left a solid platform by Mark Warburton, which I’m obviously pleased about, and that enables me to kick on from hereon in.
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“I want us to be a front foot and high-intensity team, in and out of possession. I want Loftus Road to be a real cauldron for us – I’ve been to games here and I know just how much the fans can impact the team on the pitch. We’ve got a young, hungry team and everyone has their best days in front of them. I’m absolutely excited about working with the players that we already have here. The players played in an attractive style last season and now I’m looking to add my stamp to that, so that we can kick on even further.”
After his playing days, Michael Beale has held key positions in Chelsea and Liverpool academies. It was during his stint with the Reds that he formed a relationship with Gerrard, which resulted in working with the former Liverpool midfielder as an assistant first with Glasgow Rangers and then with Aston Villa. Speaking about the appointment, QPR chairman Amit Bhatia said, “This has perhaps been the most comprehensive search that we’ve conducted during my time at the club.”
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“A lot of work went into the process – there were interviews with a number of impressive candidates. We wanted to give the process the consideration it deserves. That’s what we’ve done and we’re thrilled with the outcome in appointing Michael. He was the unanimous first choice of the board, taking into consideration a number of different metrics, and we’re thrilled to have landed our man. His pedigree is clear and all of the feedback we received on Michael was incredibly encouraging. We’re all really excited about the period ahead of us now.”
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