Under pressure former Rangers boss defended by club chief as 'no reason to dismiss' claim made

Former Rangers manager Michael Beale lives to fight another day as Zulte-Waregem gaffer after being given a vote of confidence from the club’s Director of Football.

Four straight Belgian Pro League defeats have caused the pressure to mount on the former QPR and Sunderland boss. After the most recent of which - a 3-0 loss to La Louviere away - the Englishman offered to ‘personally refund’ the travelling fans. Beale enjoyed a bright start life on the continent - but in recent weeks his side have plummeted to 10th in the table.

Despite the 46-year old - who spent a year at Rangers as gaffer - feeling the heat at his current employers, Zulte-Waregem Director of Football Niels Leroy has told him there’s nothing to worry about. The Belgian insists they aren’t a club who sack managers haphazardly and that he’s willing to give Beale enough time to change their fortunes.

Why has Beale received a vote of confidence from the Zulte-Waregem chief?

Leroy said: "Michael Beale is not under pressure right now. We are confident that we can turn things around and pick up points in the upcoming games. But even if we were to lose three more games in a row, that wouldn’t automatically mean we’re going to fire Michael.

"At this club, we always consider the bigger picture. And we have a philosophy here that we don’t part ways with a coach lightly. As long as our analysis of a situation gives us sufficient reasons for hope, there is no reason to dismiss a coach."

Beale took on the role in May to return to the managerial hot-seat after a brief spell at Al-Ettifaq, where he worked as an assistant to fellow former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard. The pair, alongside ex Ibrox assistant Gary McAllister masterminded Rangers’ historic league title victory during the 2020/21 campaign, which stopped rivals Celtic winning 10-in-a-row.

Why did Beale ‘personally refund’ Zulte-Waregem fans?

Since then, Beale took on his first head coach role at QPR where he was successful, however after being subsequently sacked at Rangers and Sunderland, his reputation took a bit of a hit. Results at his current club mean he could be heading the same way. After their defeat to La Louviere, Beale said: "I feel sorry for the fans who came here on a horrible evening. This is not an accurate reflection of the club and the players.

“We were not good enough. So I will personally refund our fans their ticket price. I have already let them know this after the game when I spoke to them, because I don't want them to have to pay for a team that puts on such a performance. There were so many things that made me unhappy during the match. We have to realise that we have a long and difficult season ahead of us. We need to do much better than we showed It has to improve, because this isn't the image we want to project. It's a humbling performance. Many players need to raise their game."

(The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly)