Michael Beale admits he has been followed by a narrative of negativity in the last two years after being let go by Rangers and then lasting just 12 games at Sunderland.
But, after taking a well-needed gap year, he is ready to go again and defiantly says: ‘I am still the same coach as when I was flying.’
The 45-year-old is referring, of course, to his Queens Park Rangers side who, against the odds, were top of the Championship when he left them. He is referring to the fine c.v. he manufactured in coaching jobs at Chelsea, Liverpool, Sao Paulo, Rangers and Aston Villa.
Speaking in a west London cafe in his first sit-down interview with a newspaper since his tough Sunderland exit, however, Beale is also referring to a period in which his stock crashed – certainly with fans – and left him feeling in desperate need of a rest and reset period.
Now, though, he is brimming with energy and love for the game again. ‘I miss the feeling of day-to-day management of a football club,’ he tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘Your phone never stops, you know where you will be for the next 10 or 11 months every day.
‘But, in the last year, family has been more important. It was the first time in my life that football was not the priority.
Michael Beale is raring to go again in management after tough experiences at Rangers and Sunderland
Beale, far right, admits it was difficult becoming main man at Ibrox after working under Steven Gerrard and Gary McAllister for three years
Beale insist he is ready to go again as a manager after a much-needed year off
‘I would work at any level, I would coach Under-10s on the park because that is what I love. Football comes at you quickly. I just love working with players.
‘Because I had been in the game so long, I just needed that time off. The toll of being a manager is so much on your time and family. It was very important to be there, certainly while my niece was going through her treatment (for leukaemia).
‘I am ready now, you can probably tell from my voice, I have so much energy.’
The 44-year-old is keen to only look forward but it’s only natural to discuss his time at Rangers and Sunderland — and the lessons he took from those two spells that ultimately ended in disappointment.
‘It certainly is different being the assistant at Rangers to the main man,’ he says. ‘I had Gary (McAllister) and Steven (Gerrard) to lean on for three years.
‘I had only been away 11 months when I came back up from QPR but I knew 80 per cent of the squad. Giovanni van Bronckhorst had done a very good job so the first question I had to the board was “Why?”.
‘I went back in, we started well and it just took off. But the difference between being a coach and a manager is… it’s just different. My focus had been entirely on coaching up until that point but then all of a sudden I was knocking out eight to 12 interviews a week immediately after you play.
‘Sometimes I was very emotional and honest. You have to learn very quickly. If you are coaching in front of 52,000 people it is hard to switch off all your emotions. You have to be highly competitive. You have to have natural enthusiasm.
Beale admits that sometimes he was too ’emotional and honest’ when he was in charge at Rangers
The Rangers job ended up taking its toll on Beale who was sacked after less than a year in charge
‘It is hard to switch that off and come and speak to all the media within 10 minutes of the game. With a few more grey hairs now I am hoping to improve on it. There are mistakes I have made. We all make mistakes, it is part of being a human.
‘I would not be the coach I am now if I hadn’t decided to take leaps… the leap to leave Chelsea to go Liverpool at the start of my journey, to go to Sao Paulo (he was the first Brit to work in Brazil’s top flight).
‘I am someone who will make mistakes because I am willing to make big decisions.
‘I was proud of a lot at Rangers, the win percentage was strong, we went in so far behind but had more points than Celtic in that period. But a lot changed.’
Beale is most probably referring to the fact that the sporting director and academy manager were among senior figures to leave in that period. His 72.5 per cent win percentage is still the highest of any Rangers manager, while his start of 18 wins in 20 is also a club record.
Speaking to him, he comes across as a likeable individual who is ready to thrive again after a period away from the day-to-day stresses of top-level management.
He adds: ‘I wanted to reflect on the fact that there are other parts of being a manager. I went from being top of the Championship with a lot of interest in me, going to Rangers with even more. That’s why I have needed this year off to make sure I am better prepared next time.’
After leaving Rangers, Beale went to Sunderland after a matter of weeks.
Beale then became manager at Sunderland but insisted ‘the background noise was just too much’
The Englishman ended up being axed after just 12 games in charge at Sunderland
‘I went in at Sunderland and it was the first time I had been rejected before I started, which was hard to take,’ he says.
‘Everyone went into it with the right intentions. Perhaps I did not go in at the perfect time, I went in on my own, at the end of December with four games in 10 days.
‘The noise in the background was just too much for everybody. It is a really positive project but the noise was too much. The Thursday before the game I left, I was at a family funeral, my niece had been put in palliative care for leukemia.
‘I am so happy for the club that they won promotion last year. When they applauded my niece, I was not aware they were going to do it. It was the only time I have been overcome by emotion in a football stadium. I could never, ever feel anything ill towards Sunderland.’
Beale insists he has taken many learnings from that chapter and reflected over his time out of the game, where he has visited 13 countries to watch football including recent trips to Japan and Argentina to tick off Boca Juniors’ mega-stadium La Bombonera.
‘If you had interviewed me when I was doing well at QPR in the Championship, I would say naivety is my best strength. I had the strength and innocence of youth,’ he says. ‘I am the same man now. Yet now I am much more aware, with the same ambitions and desires.
‘Having all these experiences, I can’t see how I am a worse coach than when I was flying. Now, I am really ready. Before, I thought I was… now I have the realities. I love every aspect of the job, I have never worked a day in my life, this is my passion.
‘There have been several opportunities to get back into it, including an international job to go and manage at the World Cup, but it has to be right for my career.
‘Sunderland was difficult for my family, maybe it was too soon after Rangers and a little bit followed me from one place to another. It is such a difficult one because they were so warm but did not want me. That is hard.
‘But now I am ready. I speak three languages… I am not sure I can get you and I out of a hostage situation, but I can coach! The life of a football manager lacks stability but I think I am at my best when I am at a place for a while, building relationships over time and building belief.
‘The future has to be about stability and with that I have confidence in my ability to do well.’
