Sunderland confirm appointment of ex-Rangers man ahead of Newcastle United FA Cup clash

Sunderland have confirmed the appointment of Michael Beale as their new head coach. Beale will replace Tony Mowbray who was sacked as Black Cats manager just-shy of a fortnight ago.

Sunderland’s 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.”

The Black Cats were defeated by Bristol City at the weekend with Beale’s first game in charge set to come against Coventry City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. They then face Hull City on Boxing Day and games against Rotherham United and Preston North End before Eddie Howe’s side make the trip to Wearside for their meeting in the Third Round of the FA Cup. 

Beale, who left his role as Rangers manager at the beginning of October, said upon his appointment as Sunderland boss: “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.”