Michael Beale has been confirmed as the new head coach of Sunderland on a contract until the summer of 2026.
The 43-year-old has been named as Tony Mowbray’s successor at the Stadium of Light 11 weeks after being sacked by Rangers.
Sunderland spoke to a series of potential candidates – with Reims boss Will Still thought to be among them – since Mowbray’s departure before deciding on Beale as the right person for the job.
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Bristol City and Sunderland
Beale 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 deserves 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.”
Sunderland parted company with Mowbray earlier this month, with his departure coming two days after a 1-1 draw at Millwall – a result that extended a run of one win from five games.
Mike Dodds helped the club to two wins over West Brom and Leeds before Saturday’s defeat at Bristol City, leaving them seventh in the Championship table and three points off the play-off places.
Dodds has been named Beale’s assistant head coach, while Michael Proctor and Alessandro Barcherini will continue in their respective roles.
Beale previously managed QPR in the Championship before his spell with Rangers. He moved to west London in the summer of 2022 and led QPR to the top of the Championship before turning down a move to the Premier League with Wolves in October of the same year.
However, a month later Beale, who also served as Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Rangers when they won the Premiership title in 2020-21, moved back to Glasgow to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst but could only lead Rangers to a second-placed finish up against Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic.
He was eventually dismissed after just six league games of the next campaign after a 3-1 defeat to Aberdeen left them third in the table and has been out of the game since leaving Ibrox.
Beale will take charge of Sunderland for the first time on Saturday when they welcome Coventry to the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: “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.”
Championship table
Sunderland’s next five fixtures…
Saturday December 23: Coventry (H) – kick-off 3pmTuesday December 26: Hull (A) – Championship, kick-off 3pmFriday December 29: Rotherham (A) – Championship, kick-off 7.45pmMonday January 1: Preston North End (H) – Championship, kick-off 12.30pm (live on Sky Sports)Saturday January 6: Newcastle (H) – FA Cup, kick-off 12.45pm
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