QPR boss Michael Beale to be granted permission to open Rangers talks - with Ibrox officials keen to make appointment next week

QPR boss Michael Beale is expected to be given permission to open talks with Rangers as the Ibrox club are poised to make an official approach for their preferred No1 candidate.

Light Blues directors Stewart Robertson and Ross Wilson have been working through a six-man shortlist in London since taking the decision to sack Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Monday morning.

It reportedly includes names like Sean Dyche and Gerardo Seoane, but Englishman Beale remains the odds-on favourite after it became clear he would welcome discussions and a possible return to Glasgow almost a year after he left the club.

Beale served as first-team coach to Steven Gerrard when Rangers halted city rivals Celtic from winning 10-in-a-row as the club lifted their 55th league title. He departed Ibrox after three years last November, following Gerrard to Aston Villa before stepping into his first management role back in June.

The 42-year-old turned down the Wolves job last month, citing “integrity and loyalty” as the main reason for rejecting a move to Molineux, but QPR director of football Les Ferdinand stated earlier this week he won’t stand in Beale’s way if he wanted to hold talks with Rangers over their vacant role.

Speaking at the time after knocking back an approach from the Premier League club, Beale said: “There has been a lot in the background and it has been a difficult few days for me personally, if I’m honest. Integrity and loyalty are big things for me, and if they are the values you live by you have to be strong. I have been all-in here and I have asked other people to be all-in so I can’t be the first person to run away from the ship.”

Speculation that Beale is set to be announced as Van Bronckhorst’s successor heightened further last night after the highly-regarded Loftus Road boss decided to take himself out of the firing line by deleting his Twitter account. It is believed he will make a final decision over his future within the next 48 hours.

He has already been compared to a VULTURE by former Hibernian striker Tam McManus for his recent visit to Ibrox. Beale watched on from the stands as Rangers thrashed Aberdeen 4-1 in the Scottish Premiership and was spotted in the Louden Tavern before the match.

McManus insisted it was unfair of Beale to attend the match amid mounting pressure on Van Bronckhorst by adding fuel to the fire. He told PLZ Soccer: “I think it’s an unwritten rule amongst managers, that if you’re a manager and another manager is under serious pressure and you’ve been linked to the job, it’s like vultures circling for a job.

“I can understand why Giovanni van Bronckhorst was annoyed at that. Beale needs to see the bigger picture and he knows that manager is under pressure.”

Rangers trail by nine points in the Premiership title race and their new boss will have time to work with an injury-hit squad over the remaining weeks of the World Cup break before facing Hibernian on Thursday, December 15. Players will return on Monday following a two-week rest and recovery period.

Should a deal be concluded over the weekend, Beale would become the club’s 18th permanent manager. Rangers are also locked in discussions with Van Bronckhorst’s backroom staff, with Dave Vos, Roy Makaay, Arno Phillips and Yori Bosschart all likely to head through the exit door in the coming days.