Former Rangers coach lined up to replace Mark Warburton at QPR

Queen’s Park Rangers have made moves to replace former Rangers manager Mark Warburton at Loftus Road – and have lined up another coach with an Ibrox connection.

The Championship side have approached Aston Villa for permission to speak to Steven Gerrard's assistant Michael Beale over the vacancy in west London.

Beale, a highly-rated coach with experience of football in Scotland and Brazil as well as Liverpool and Chelsea, has harboured ambitions of working as a boss on his own in the future but has been an integral part of Steven Gerrard’s regime at both Rangers and Aston Villa.

Gerrard called Beale a training-ground "expert” and admitted he would need almost two decades to get close to the 41-year-old’s on-pitch coaching abilities.

QPR are seeking a replacement for Warburton, another former Ibrox employee, after a string of defeats ended their play-off hopes ahead of his departure.

Gareth Ainsworth, Karl Robinson and Hibs-linked duo Michael Appleton and Jon Dahl Tomasson are also names being linked.