QPR to appoint Steven Gerrard's assistant Michael Beale as new manager

Michael Beale is set to be announced as the new head coach of Queens Park Rangers.

The 41-year-old has been given permission by Aston Villa to make the move having made it clear that he wants to be a manager rather than continue to work as part of the backroom staff.

Beale is currently assistant to Steven Gerrard having also worked under him at Rangers. A highly-ambitious coach, Beale has also coached at Chelsea and had a short spell in Brazil, with Sao Paulo.

Beale is being appointed after an exhaustive process undertaken by QPR following the decision to allow Mark Warburton to leave after his contract expired.

QPR finished 11th in the Championship last season having, at one stage, been in the play-off places. QPR are believed to have spoken to a number of candidates following Warburton’s departure.

There was strong interest in Karl Robinson, the manager of Oxford United who has a strong track record of developing young players, but he is understood to have pulled out of the running. Other candidates are believed to have included MK Dons manager Liam Manning and Ronny Deila, the former Celtic manager who is the head coach of MLS club New York City. Jon Dahl Tomasson, the former Denmark international who won the Swedish league twice as coach of Malmo, was also considered.

Beale is an ambitious coach but this will be his first role as a first-team manager. He worked at Chelsea’s academy before taking a similar role at Liverpool, where he first worked with the Under-16s and then the Under-23s.

It was there that he first came across Gerrard who then took him to Rangers as his assistant along with Gary McAllister. Gerrard called Beale a “training ground expert” and admired his coaching ability. Beale moved to Villa with