By Michael Beale’s own admission, his career trajectory and stock rocketed so quickly that the crash was always going to hit hard.
Beale was one of management’s hot properties when his Queens Park Rangers side were top of the English Championship and he joined Rangers – but a tough ending at Ibrox was backed up by a turbulent 12 games at Sunderland with two quick-fire sackings.
So the 46-year-old needed a reset period after what he describes as a ‘big blip’. Now, three years on from leaving Glasgow and that ill-fated spell on Wearside, Beale is back in the saddle and insists he is loving every second.
‘I couldn’t be happier in terms of how it started,’ says Beale, who has Belgian side Zulte Waregem punching above their weight and sixth in their top flight. ‘It’s early days. So far it’s been a really good decision to come here.
‘I knew the next job was delicate. I had to make the right step at the right club. I’ve done that. This really does give me a chance to enjoy my work.
‘Time out gave me time to plan, to reset where my energy was and to detach because my career went so quickly upwards and then I had a big blip.
Michael Beale has made a positive start to life in the Belgian top flight with Zulte Waregem
‘I was in the media focus and so I needed to come away to reset and go forward where I wanted to go — that’s what I’m in the process of doing now… so far, so good. Both on and off the pitch, I am loving it.’
Beale, who earned his corn in youth coaching at Chelsea and Liverpool before roles as assistant at Sao Paulo and then to Steven Gerrard at Rangers and Aston Villa, knows he made some wrong decisions in previous jobs but believes he has grown.
The tranquil setting of Waregem, then, is helping Beale settle back into first-team management after a two-year gap from the No1 role that was filled with a stint in Saudi Arabia at Al-Ettifaq as assistant to Gerrard, plus work for FIFA.
‘It’s a family club and it is such a small place,’ adds Beale. ‘I live 300 metres from the stadium, the training ground is another 200 metres on. I either cycle or walk in, a lot of the players live nearby.
‘There is no ego. I don’t want to say it’s refreshing because it sounds like there was ego at my other clubs, but it’s nice to have the players’ eyes and ears to the situation. It certainly helps when you start well, it cements my ideas into place.
‘You pop to the supermarket, you’ll see two players and four fans! People wish you luck, it’s really laid-back. The players have a lot of humility, they are very humble, not wearing all the fancy gear.
Beale’s second stint at Rangers ended on a sour note with a string of major disappointments
‘We have two fishing lakes literally 10 metres from the stadium turnstiles, a padel centre, the training ground opposite, there is a hotel in between where people sit outside to eat and drink.
‘It’s a very sociable place, everybody knows everyone. I have delved into that. I’ve not hidden away. After we played the local derby, I went to someone’s house for a 60th birthday barbecue.
‘Me and Mike (Garrity, assistant) go to watch Liverpool play on the TV in the local bar and have half a beer and then meet some local people and be invited to people’s houses or out to dinner.
‘We had a beer and food festival right outside our stadium. It was great to meet locals. There was a big funfair, lots of stuff going on in the bars until 3am. It was like living in the middle of a nightclub!’
Zulte Waregem, a merger of two clubs 25 years ago, has a data-led model with a mix of nationalities and cultures in the squad. The CEO, Michiel Beeuwsaert, is just 24 and knows their place in the food chain. Beale has already handed out several debuts to youngsters.
The team went five games unbeaten including notable wins at home to Genk and at local rivals Kortrijk, featuring two stoppage-time strikes. Most newspapers had tipped the team for relegation so Beale and Co are outperforming expectations.
Beale wasted little time in returning to the dugout with Sunderland but flopped on Wearside
Beale, who is keen to be a trailblazer for British coaches abroad, spent his gap year ticking off bucket-list stadiums around the world, such as Boca Juniors’ La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, and studying American sports.
‘I studied the NFL,’ he explains. ’They have 52 players on the roster and then the head coach has 17 assistants! I’m obsessed with that. I looked at the NBA as well and I was like, “OK, how do they manage their staff?”.
‘So my assistant Steve Colpaert looks after the defenders, Mike Garrity looks after the midfielders, I look after the forwards. We have this method called “you versus yourself”, every player we sit and talk to about their journey, like where they’re going, where they want to get to.
‘Ultimately, would their team-mates pick them? It’s a way of managing the players’ energy and focus, to get the best out of them. We would say: person, player, team. Understand the person to understand the player and that helps the team.
‘I used it with Steven at Rangers and then at QPR. I know my method needs a little bit of time because it’s a bit different. This is the first time since QPR I have had a full pre-season and the vibe feels very much like QPR. It’s a young group on the up.’
An hour in Beale’s company makes it clear he is happy again after a tough period but not bitter about his previous chapters. He had turned down approaches from clubs in the UK and Scandinavia before settling on Belgium.
Beale has returned to management after a spell out of the game and is relishing life in Belgium
‘My dream was to be a head coach in Europe,’ he explains. ‘My background is in youth development and this club gave me a lot of those ingredients. Our CEO is ambitious but realistic in terms of where we are in the food chain.
‘The time out was great and just reignited a fire of where I want to be and what my ambition was when I first started.
‘I look back and I’m really pleased with where Sunderland has gone as a club. I’m so proud when I look at some players like Dan Ballard and how well he’s doing. I’m pleased for them as a club because they fulfilled their ambition.
‘And Derek McInnes, he is a friend. I always felt Derek was destined to be Rangers manager one day. He’s just had a few weeks from heaven and so I’m really pleased for him.
‘I was just speaking to young Nico Raskin last week who I signed and he plays in the Belgian national team, he was wishing me well. Glasgow is still home for me, my sons are passionate Rangers fans so I’m never far away from that club.
‘I still feel that I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world, I’m a football manager. I’m living my dream and now I’m working in mainland Europe in the Belgian Pro League, which is the sixth best league in the world according to votes, so I don’t have anything to complain about.’
