Rangers sack boss Michael Beale putting Northern Ireland's Steve Davis in charge

Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis has been named temporary Rangers boss following the sacking of Michael Beale after a disastrous start to the season.

The Ibrox club issued a statement confirming the departure of Beale, 43.

“Results this season have fallen short of what everyone connected to Rangers would expect," it said. “Therefore, the decision was reached today to terminate the contract of the manager, as well as the contracts of coaches Neil Banfield, Damian Matthew, Harry Watling and Jack Ade.”

Veteran midfielder Steven Davis will lead the interim management team.

Calls for Beale’s departure increased following the 3-1 home defeat to Aberdeen on Saturday, with the players again booed off the park. The third loss in seven cinch Premiership fixtures left the Light Blues seven points behind leaders Celtic and with their title hopes already in jeopardy. The statement continued: “The club is pleased to announce that Steven Davis will lead the interim management team. “The team will consist of former Rangers player and hugely experienced coach Alex Rae, former Rangers player and current coach Steven Smith, coach Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.” Rangers chairman John Bennett said: “I’d like to thank Michael for his dedicated work since he rejoined the club as manager last November.“It is clear that results have fallen well short of the board’s, Michael’s and our supporters’ expectations.

“The search process for the new manager is already under way. I wish Steven Davis and the interim management team every success – they will remain in charge for as long as it takes to make the right appointment.”

Former midfielder Davis’ contract expired at the end of last season but the club had been letting him use the facilities for his rehabilitation following a serious knee injury. It is understood the new management team have all the required UEFA badges to lead Rangers into their European match on Thursday.

Davis is Northern Ireland's most capped player. Beale never recovered from the 1-0 defeat by an under-strength Hoops side at Ibrox last month, with four subsequent wins in three different competitions doing little to appease disgruntled supporters. Beale revamped his squad in the summer but new signings such as Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers, Dujon Sterling and Jose Cifuentes have failed to impress. In mitigation, injuries robbed him of Danilo, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell, Nico Raskin, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Kemar Roofe for various lengths of time with Ryan Jack and Ridvan Yilmaz picking up injuries against the Dons. Beale, who was first-team coach at Rangers under Steven Gerrard, took over in the Ibrox hotseat in November 2022, following the departure of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

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