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Scottish Sun
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Rangers hero says he WOULD welcome back Michael Beale if Steven Gerrard is named manager
The former Rangers man has likened the move to one of the most controversial signings in Scottish history PICK MICK Rangers hero says he WOULD welcome back Michael Beale if Steven Gerrard is named manager EX-RANGERS star Derek Ferguson has said he would welcome controversial former Rangers manager Michael Beale back to the club. Beale was a first team coach under Steven Gerrard when he was the Light Blues' gaffer, and rumours are swirling that he could return in a similar role should the former Liverpool captain take the helm at Ibrox once again. 2 Beale joined Rangers with Gerrard as a first team coach Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun 2 But came back in as the main man in 2022 Credit: Willie Vass London-born Beale left Rangers with Gerrard and became assistant manager to the Champions League winner at Aston Villa at the end of 2021. He seen the season out as Gerrard's number two, before starting a management career of his own with QPR. A matter of months later he was snapped up for the vacant manager's position at Ibrox, as Gers parted company with boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Beale didn't last a year in the Ibrox hot seat, with a trophyless first season, and three losses in the Gers first seven in his second seen his position become untenable and he was relieved of his duties in October 2023. By December, he had joined Sunderland, but his spell with the Black Cats only lasted two months, and he was sacked. He teamed back up with Gerrard in Saudi Arabia, joining Al Ettifaq as assistant to the ex-England international in November of last year, but was sacked once more only two months later. Ferguson, who spent seven years with Rangers in the eighties and nineties, has came out and backed Beale to follow Gerrard, should he rejoin Rangers. Ferguson said on Open Goal: 'You know my feelings on Beale. But see if it is Steven Gerrard and if he's going to feel comfortable and he's going to just be the coach and that's your side of it? I'd be alright with that. 'I would welcome him back. There you go. 'That's somebody that I was really upset with, Beale, at the time." Inside the rise of ex-Rangers ultras chief turned mob boss waging gangland war across Scotland Derek, whose son is Scotland star, Lewis Ferguson, compared the potential return of Beale to the controversial signing of Mo Johnston from Celtic. He said: 'You're talking about Philippe Clement talking a lot of nonsense at times, you thought Beale had invented football the way he spoke. 'But then if his role is there to coach the players, to make them better on the grass, that's what it is all about. 'They forget, it's like Mo Johnston. They sign Mo, the fans, uproar. Then once he starts scoring, they start flooding back.' Gerrard is the bookies favourite for the Rangers job, but ex-Rangers star Russell Martin is also in the frame for the role. Reports from Spain also suggest that Davide Ancelotti, son of Carlo Ancelotti is still interested in the vacant position at Ibrox. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
The National
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The National
I got off team bus for Rangers transfer exit - it was a bad decision
The forward, 31, left the Ibrox club in 2018 to join Wigan Athletic after his buyout clause was triggered. Steven Gerrard had to inform the player of the transfer bid for his services, but was confident the player would not leave Rangers. However, speaking on Open Goal, Windass has explained that as soon as he was informed of the transfer bid, he started driving to seal a move to the English side. He said: "I had a nightmare. I don't want to go over it. They activated my buyout clause. "He [Gerrard] came up to me and got me off the bus and told me, 'These have put a bid in for you. "I have obviously got to tell you because you're not going to leave to go then I left." Windass had been in line to feature for Rangers against Maribor in the Europa League before his decision to leave for Wigan. Rangers would go on to win the match 3-1. He continued: "I was about to start. It was Maribor in the Europa League. "I didn't have an agent or anything. It was a bad decision. "But I just went straight down the motorway. Read more: "[Rangers assistant] Mick Beale was texting me, saying you're making a mistake. "I was 23, I wanted a bigger wage. I was stupid." Despite the bizarre circumstances surrounding his exit, Windass was in talks with Gerrard over a loan back to the club. "We had a zoom call about six months later because I was going to go back on loan in the January, Paul Cook wouldn't let me go," said Windass. "Gerrard basically gave me what for. He told me everything that was wrong with me and how I can improve and stuff as a person. "He said if we are going to bring you back, we need to have an honest conversation. "I never went back anyway, and that was it. "It's ages ago now, so I'm not that bothered by it now. "But for two years after, I was thinking about it every day until I signed for Sheffield Wednesday."
Scottish Sun
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Moment Rangers star got off team bus on way to a game after Steven Gerrard gave him shock message
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FORMER Rangers attacker Josh Windass has revealed Steven Gerrard scolded him for the way he left the club after he got off the team bus, got into his car and drove away. Windass exited the Ibrox outfit joining then-Championship side Wigan on transfer deadline day in August 2018. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 3 Josh Windass, Rangers Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun Glasgow 3 Steven Gerrard and Josh Windass in training Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun Glasgow 3 Josh Windass celebrates his opening goal for Rangers Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun Glasgow But the wheels were set in motion when Windass shared Gerrard took him off the team bus ahead of crucial Europa League match against Maribor at Ibrox to say there was interest in him. And it all quickly unravelled from there. Windass told the Open Goal podcast: "I started the first two games of the season then left on deadline day. "I had a nightmare. They activated my buyout clause. "He got me off the bus and told me, [there's] a bid in for you. "I have got to tell you because you're not going to leave to go there'.. and then I left." The Sheffield Wednesday striker added: " I didn't have an agent at the time. It was a bad decision. "But I just got in my car and went down the motorway. "[Rangers assistant] Mick Beale was texting me, saying you're making a big mistake. "I was 23, I wanted a bigger wage. I was stupid." Watch Rangers boss Steven Gerrard show his love for Josh Windass' deadly finishing in training Windass said he had not spoke to Gerrard after the abrupt departure until a few months after during the January transfer window and the Liverpool legend was fuming. Windass says the club looked to bring him back on loan. But a move never materialised as he claimed the Wigan manager at the time Paul Cook would not sanction a deal. "We had a zoom call about six months later because I was going to go back on loan," he said. "Gerrard basically gave me what for. He told me everything that was wrong with me and how I can improve and stuff as a person. "He said if we are going to bring you back we need to have an honest conversation. "I never went back anyway and that was it. "It's ages ago now, so I'm not that bothered by it. "But for two years after, I thought about it every day until I signed in for Sheffield Wednesday." Gerrard is favourite to return to the Ibrox dugout and be the next Rangers manager but it is believed he faces competition from Russell Martin. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
‘No balls, nothing' – Ex-Rangers stars on Steven Gerrard's brutal and ‘scary' pre-season training regime
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FORMER Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday has pulled the curtain back on the ferocious intensity of Steven Gerrard's training sessions. The Liverpool legend is the frontrunner to return to Ibrox and become the next Rangers boss. 3 Gerrard speaking with Gary McAlister during time at Rangers Credit: PA 3 Andy Halliday in training for Rangers Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun 3 Steven Gerrard and Josh Windass Credit: Willie Vass - The Sun Glasgow And if that turns out to be the case, some of the players could be in for a rude awakening come the 23rd of June when they are due to return to pre-season. Halliday, who played under Gerrard between 2018 and 2020, told the Open Goal podcast: "F***** hell it was hard. "Five three-minute runs, three times a week. "Say you've got a 24-man squad, you would get split into three groups. "I think the top eight if I remember correctly had to run 910 metres in three minutes - which is f****** rapid. "The middle eight was 870m or 840m, and the bottom eight 810m and [Alfredo] Morelos 500m. He used to plod round! "You end up getting fit to be fair, Gerrard would get you fit." Sheffield Wednesday attacker Josh Windass also spoke about his experience of training under the 44-year-old. He also said he regretted the way his time came to an end at Ibrox before joining Wigan in a deal worth £2.5 million on transfer deadline day. Windass added: "When we were doing those runs, Gerrard used to stand in the middle with his watch. He didn't say a word. Rangers hero Andy Halliday explains moment he was sent in from training after telling Pedro Caixinha he'd got Celtic formation wrong "There was one occasion when he was in the right channel and he whipped one round the defence for me, and I was like, 'oh good ball, gaffer'. "And he was like, 'I used to do that for [Fernando] Torres lad,'" He continued: "The runs were scary. You would do them in the morning, you would go to the pitch and there wouldn't be a cone anywhere. "No balls, nothing, just your runners on." Both players were full of praise for Michael Beale who was Gerrard's assistant before going on to take the top job himself. Beale has faced criticism for his managerial record following disappointing spells at Rangers and Sunderland. But Halliday and Windass lauded his expertise on the training pitch. Windass said: "He [Gerrard] wasn't a big talker. "He would come in during a training session and maybe say something to you. "But Mick would do all the presentations. " Halliday added: "He's a brilliant coach. "Personally, I don't think the fans would want it, but I think you would take him back. "Because he's the first-team coach, he's not coming back as the manager again." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Andy Halliday claim about Steven Gerrard and Rangers job gets louder with every passing hour
Andy Halliday says his former manager hasn't even been spoken to yet about the job at Ibrox Andy Halliday has claimed Steven Gerrard hasn't even been spoken to directly by Rangers yet, before it emerged the next manager target is still on the beach in Bahrain. It's claimed Gerrard is one of a number of contenders being considered by the new owners, holding the distinction of having already won the Premiership title at Ibrox. His name value is also an attractive proposition to the new San Francisco 49ers-backed decision-makers but he isn't the only name in contention, with Russell Martin, Davide Ancelotti and Gary O'Neil among those still in the running. Whether Gerrard and his family will be open to a return to the UK also remains to be seen as they've been settled in Bahrain since his move to Al-Ettifaq in 2023. Today Gerrard posted to his Instagram story from the seaside in Bahrain – a nail in the coffin to swirling rumours that he was in the UK to rubber-stamp his second spell at Ibrox. But Motherwell midfielder Halliday, who played under Gerrard during his first spell, took one things further when he claimed there hasn't even been direct contact between the club and the would-be boss yet. He said on Open Goal: "There's people who know a lot more than I do, but from what I've been told, Steven Gerrard hasn't even been spoken to once." The latest odds indicate Gerrard is the clear frontrunner as things stand with one bookie even describing it as a two-horse race between Gerrard and Ancelotti. Both of those prospective bosses have had periods over the past week or so where their moves looked imminent, but the rapidly changing landscape of a next manager hunt never stands still for long. It's also of course all happening against the backdrop of the Ibrox takeover which is itself yet to be formally green-lit. We understand that is still on course and will come at some time in June. As has been suggested by our man Keith Jackson on Hotline Live, it's a distinct possibility that the club plan to unveil it all in one go with the new era at Ibrox presented in a united front. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
