Michael Beale sacked as Sunderland boss after just two months in charge

The former Rangers manager was in charge for just 12 games.

After just two months in the position, Sunderland’s head coach Michael Beale was fired.

 

Twelve games into his tenure at the Stadium of Light, the 43-year-old former QPR and Rangers manager—who took Tony Mowbray’s place—lost his job due to back-to-back Sky Bet Championship losses to Birmingham and Huddersfield.

 

According to the official club website, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman stated, “We are disappointed that Michael is leaving Sunderland AFC.”

 

“We accept full responsibility for our lack of progress, which is regrettable, and we believe that taking swift action is in the best interests of the club.

 

“We wish Michael the best of luck for the future; it has been a difficult few months for him.”

 

Mike Dodds, the assistant will serve as the team’s coach for the balance of the season.

“To ensure we achieve the highest possible league finish, our focus is now on the players and supporting Mike

Dodds in the remaining games,” Speakman went on. We will keep our

supporters informed when new information becomes available.

 

Beale, who assisted Steven Gerrard in leading Rangers to the Scottish

Premiership in 2021, entered Wearside to a furore from supporters who were

miffed over Mowbray’s exit and weren’t very fond of his replacement.

 

Not only did his on-field performance not help him, but his claim that the crowd

disliked him because he was a cockney did little to defuse the situation.

He was in the dugout for just four games overall; the other six were losses, one of which was a poor 3-0 home loss to archrivals Newcastle in the FA Cup third round.

 

Beale faced more criticism over the weekend when he seemed to refuse to shake hands with substitute Trai Hume

as he left the field at St Andrew’s, although he later issued an apology and

claimed he was unaware that he had done so.

With 13 games left, Sunderland is now four points outside of the play-off spots in the league, sitting in 10th position.

 

After placing sixth in their first season back in the second division, they advanced to the semi-finals under

Mowbray’s leadership last year. However, they ultimately lost 3-2 on

aggregate to Luton, who defeated Coventry on penalties in the

championship game to earn a spot in the top flight.

 

The job of finding the club’s fourth manager since he took over for Lee Johnson in 2021 falls to chairman Kyril

Louis-Dreyfus. The previous manager, Alex Neil, left for Stoke after the team

was promoted, making room for Mowbray.