Sunderland confirm appointment of Michael Beale as Tony Mowbray's successor
Sunderland have confirmed the appointment of Michael Beale as their new head coach.
The Black Cats have been on the lookout for a new boss since the sacking of Tony Mowbray two weeks ago with coach Mike Dodds taking temporary charge.
Beale, who was himself sacked by Rangers two months ago, will now take over the reins in the long term after signing a contract until the summer of 2026.
Dodds will remain part of the coaching team and has taken up the position of assistant head coach while Michael Proctor and Alessandro Barcherini will also remain at the club.
It is Beale's third job in management after stints at QPR and Rangers while he also spent time at Aston Villa as Steven Gerrard's assistant and worked in the academy setups at Chelsea and Liverpool.
Speaking to the Sunderland website after his appointment, Beale said: “It’s a huge honour to be joining the Sunderland family and I would like to thank Kyril, Kristjaan and the rest of the executive team for the faith and responsibility they have placed in me.
"The existing coaching team deserve 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.”
Beale was sacked by Rangers following an underwhelming start to the season that saw the Scottish giants lose three of their opening seven league games. They also failed to qualify for the Champions League after a heavy defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the play-offs.
Despite this, Sunderland Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman believes he is the perfect appointment given his outlook and ability to develop players.
He 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.”
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