Michael Beale reveals remarkable Rangers journey as Chris Sutton reminded 'I'm a much better coach than I was a player'

Chris Sutton joked he needed a Google search to work out for whom Michael Beale played. But the Rangers boss insists he’d never have found his way to Ibrox had it not clicked early that coaching was the way to go.

The Londoner came through the same Charlton youth squad as Jermain Defoe and Scott Parker but while his former team-mates were climbing their way towards Premier League fame and fortune, Beale’s trajectory was heading in the opposite direction as he nosedived towards the non-league ranks.

It was at the age of 21 that Beale came to the conclusion he’d reached the end of the road as a player. But that was just the starting point on an incredible coaching journey that has allowed him to clock up experiences at some of the world’s biggest clubs spanning two continents. His travels have taken him from boyhood favourites Chelsea to Brazilian giants Sao Paolo, from working next door to Steven Gerrard in the Liverpool academy to working hand-in-hand with the Anfield legend at Rangers and Aston Villa.

Now back at Ibrox, he’s come to the point where he stands a day out from the Viaplay Cup final at Hampden and on the verge of lifting his first trophy as a manager in his own right. Lose to Celtic and he’ll no doubt find Sutton again clogging up his spam account. But mastermind Rangers’ first victory in this competition since 2011 and there will be no need for a search engine to find his name, which will be on the lips of every Ibrox supporter.

“I was a gifted youth player, didn’t make the breakthrough to first-team football, dropped into non-league and had to make a decision,” said the Rangers manager on a remarkable rise that saw him start out coaching six-year-olds at Stamford Bridge.

“I was very lucky to be offered a