Michael Beale has revealed that he was surprised when Rangers asked him to replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst at Ibrox as their manager last season.
Beale took charge of Rangers in the middle of the 2022/23 season when Van Bronckhorst was sacked by the Glasgow giants.
Rangers finished some way away from Celtic in the title race that season but the expectation was that the new manager would bridge the gap through good recruitment last summer.
However, the new signings failed to pay off for Beale and he was sacked in October by the Ibrox outfit with Philippe Clement taking charge from him.
Beale was the assistant to Steven Gerrard who won the league at Rangers and admitted that when he was asked to return to the club as their manager he was surprised.
The Englishman felt that Van Bronckhorst did a good job but he admitted that he was not going to turn down an offer from Rangers.
Beale said on Sky Sports: “I have got so much admiration for Rangers and I live in that part of the world.
“They are a fantastic football club.
“I went back in last season and it was a shock really to be asked to go because I felt that Giovanni van Bronckhorst did a fantastic job.
“But when you are asked to go back to Rangers, a club that meant a lot to me and the relationships.”
Van Bronckhorst recently slammed Beale for being in the stands to apply more pressure on him during his final days as Rangers boss.
