QPR head coach Michael Beale explains comments regarding Aston Villa vacancy | OneFootball

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Football League World

·23 October 2022

QPR head coach Michael Beale explains comments regarding Aston Villa vacancy

Article image:QPR head coach Michael Beale explains comments regarding Aston Villa vacancy

Queens Park Rangers head coach Michael Beale’s reputation has gone up ten-fold thanks to his fantastic start to life as a boss, and that has seen him linked with a swift return to the Premier League.

Following his appointment at Loftus Road to replace Mark Warburton in the dugout back in June, Beale was the right-hand man of Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, but departed the Midlands to branch out on his own for the first time.


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It is so far, so good for Beale as the R’s sit top of the Championship after 16 matches, but there were serious doubts that he would be in charge of the West Londoners this weekend as Wolverhampton Wanderers made him their top target to fill their hot-seat.

Can you score 23/23 on this quiz about QPR in the 2000s?

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Article image:QPR head coach Michael Beale explains comments regarding Aston Villa vacancy

Who was QPR’s boss when 1999 turned 2000?

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Beale though turned the opportunity down, indicating his desire to remain at the Hoops due to the fact he entered into a commitment with them, but not long after he did that, his former club Villa sacked Gerrard following their poor start to the 2022-23 campaign.

However, links with that particular role were quickly shut down by Beale, who told TalkSPORT ‘no chance’ in regards to a potential return as head coach and hinted that things behind the scenes at Villa Park were not all as they seemed.

In a now deleted tweet, with his entire account now gone, Beale has since explained his comments, saying (via the Daily Record): “To clarify AVFC is a wonderful club, I enjoyed my time there and wish them every success in the future.

“The players/staff were a pleasure to work with.

“The ‘no chance’ comment was in reference to my commitment to QPR and was in no way being disrespectful to anyone at Villa Park.”

The Verdict

It is perhaps daft that anyone related to Aston Villa took Beale’s comments as disrespectful, but Steven Gerrard is a very good friend of his and Beale will know what is going on within the hierarchy there.

Beale as well has already committed to QPR once in the last week, and the fact he has done it again – even though there’s no suggestion that Villa want to bring him back – is a sign of his character.

The 42-year-old is flying in his first head coach job, and if things carry on the way they are going at Loftus Road then he will be a Premier League boss sooner rather than later.

With some theories that he was the brains behind the operation though when alongside Gerrard, Villa fans will probably be wishing that Beale was returning soon as their manager rather than in opposition.

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