Michael Beale 'upset' Steven Gerrard as ex Rangers boss gets frank on reunion

Steven Gerrard has revealed he wanted to lure Michael Beale away to Saudi Arabia sooner, but the latter’s stint at Rangers complicated matters.

Beale's 10-month spell at Ibrox was a disaster, with the former Gers assistant sacked when he was seven points behind Celtic after seven games of the Scottish Premiership season, last October. Over a year on, and with a similarly poor spell at Sunderland where he only lasted 12 games, he has linked up with Gerrard once again at Al-Ettifaq — and the former Liverpool midfielder may be wondering if his old assistant could have helped him out of their current rut.

The QPR job tempted Beale away from the assistant manager position at Aston Villa and has now arrived at the SPL club following a reshuffle. The club hierarchy recently decided to stick by the manager despite a poor run, but it was confirmed that ex-Ibrox sporting director Mark Allen and assistant manager Dean Holden had both been axed.

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The club are currently 12th in the league, with only three top-flight wins in 11. Speaking about the appointment of Beale following their goalless draw with Al Riyadh, Gerrard said: “He is a great coach. He will help the team a lot, but we need time to develop some things. I am sure that he will develop the team more.

“I did not want to lose Michael when I was at Aston Villa, and when he left (for QPR) I was upset. It was a blow to me, and if he had been available when I negotiated to come to Al-Ittihad, he would have been my assistant at the club."