Ex-Rangers boss Michael Beale back in football - length of Sunderland contract, what he had to say

Former Rangers manager Michael Beale has been appointed the new head coach at Sunderland.

Beale was sacked by Rangers on October 1 following a poor run of performances in the cinch Premiership, less than a year into his Ibrox tenure, with Philippe Clement brought in to replace him. And a day after Rangers claimed the Viaplay Cup under the Belgian’s watch, Beale’s appointment at Sunderland was confirmed. Reims boss Will Still was the early favourite to succeed Tony Mowbray on Wearside but after negotiations with him broke down, the English Championship club turned to the 43-year-old Englishman to try and guide them to the promised land of the Premier League.

Beale has been given the job title of head coach and will work alongside Mike Dodds as his assistant, who had been filling in as caretaker manager. Beale has signed a contract until the summer of 2026 and said: “It’s a huge honour to be joining the Sunderland family and I would like to thank Kyril [Louis-Dreyfus], Kristjaan [Speakman] and the rest of the Executive Team for the faith and responsibility they have placed in me. The existing coaching team deserve huge credit for the way they navigated the interim period and like all of the staff at the Club, they will continue to be vitally important moving forward alongside the incredible fans that make SAFC such an historic and unique Club. It’s clear there is some excellent work being done at senior and academy level and I’m excited to support those efforts and implement my own ideas, as we build on the strong identity already established within the Club.”

Michael Beale has taken over at Sunderland, ten weeks after leaving Rangers.

On Beale’s arrival, sporting director Speakman added: “We have monitored Michael’s career for some time and we are delighted to have reached an agreement for him to become our new Head Coach. He has an excellent and well-founded reputation for developing players and he is an outstanding progressive coach, who is aligned with our playing identity and naturally fits within our structure alongside Mike Dodds and the wider team. We continue to trust in our established process of identifying the right candidates to take us forward at these junctures and although Michael has had a setback, we feel we are getting him at the right time in his coaching journey and our journey as a Club.”