Queens Park Rangers close to appointing Aston Villa man Michael Beale as manager
Queen Park Rangers are close to appointing Aston Villa coach Michael Beale as first-team manager, according to reports by John Percy.
The 41-year-old followed Steven Gerrard from Liverpool’s youth set up to Scotland where he became assistant manager of Rangers.
The pair enjoyed a successful time in Glasgow as they lifted the league title, reasserting the Gers’ domestic dominance as well as putting them back on the map in Europe before moving to the midlands.
He said on Twitter: “QPR are close to appointing Michael Beale as manager. Beale is very keen to become a No 1 and Aston Villa have known there was always a chance of this happening since appointing Steven Gerrard.”
Beale stayed with the Liverpool legend when he moved to Villa Park in November but the Lions have always been aware the boss’ number two may leave for a higher role at some point with him being “very keen” to become a manager.
Blow.
This is not good news at all for Villans fans. Gerrard has a very close-knit staff around him – most of which he brought from his very successful spell at Ibrox.
The Scouser obviously trusts and works well with them otherwise he wouldn’t have brought them along on his first job in the Premier League.
It will undoubtedly be a blow but you would like to think there is a contingency plan in place with this being something the club has known about since their arrival.
With Gerrard’s contacts, he should be able to find an adequate replacement in no time.
In some ways, this has happened at the perfect time. Often teams need to find replacements for managers midway through the season but with this being at the end of the last campaign, Aston Villa have the whole summer to prepare.
It is far from ideal but the show goes on. Gerrard is still in charge with a host of brilliant staff – he has been backed by the owners and has the whole summer to work with his squad ahead of a really exciting season, next term.
In other Aston Villa news, Aston Villa receive a response after contact was made with Tammy Abraham’s team for a potential move.