Michael Beale slams 'snakes' in football as ex Rangers boss tells cynics what really impacted his big decisions

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Defiant Michael Beale has issued a firm defence of his managerial record as he put the blame on his flops on unseen "snakes" behind the scenes.

The former Rangers boss has been out of work since getting sacked by Sunderland back in February after just 12 games in charge at the Stadium of Light. That spell came just a few months after he was relieved of his duties at Ibrox after failing to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League and falling eight points behind eventual Premiership winners Celtic in the title race.

Beale - who lasted just 10 months in the Ibrox hot seat having worked at the club previously as Steven Gerrard's lieutenant - made the move north of the border after a short-lived spell in the QPR dugout. And speaking to Inside the Academy, the Londoner has claimed that his decision-making was impacted by unseen forces behind the scenes at some of his clubs: "Around a couple of the moves I've had as a manager, I saw loads of snakes and people come out of the woodwork. And I didn't like it.

"It made me uncomfortable, and perhaps I would've made better decisions if those people weren't around, but that's for another time. Ultimately, I'm very, very fortunate that I've been a manager at QPR, Glasgow Rangers, 52,000 (fans), Sunderland, 44,000 in the Championship. I've worked in the Premier League, I've worked in Serie A and I've worked in over 60 games in Europe across the Europa League and Champions League.

"So I have 257 games in the system, 77 games as a manager and at 44 years of age I feel like I'm at the start of my career. In that sense, I still feel like I'm a young coach."

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