Here's everything Michael Beale had to say when speaking for the first time as Head Coach of Sunderland AFC...
READY TO GO
"It’s a really proud moment for me and my family to be joining the club. It’s a huge club, that’s not lost on me, and there’s a big excitement to get started with the staff and the players as well."
YOUNG EXCITING SQUAD
"That’s the big part of me coming in, really being excited about the potential of this squad, the current level they’ve been performing at, both under Mike Dodds in the last few games, but before that with Tony as well, I thought he did a really good job in terms of bringing the team forward, and last year getting to the playoffs and the start of the season that we’ve had. Mike and Michael Proctor and the rest of the staff have taken that on in the last two weeks, so I’m coming into a squad that I’m really excited to work with. I think they play in an excellent style, and it’s me adding my experience and ideas to a team that’s already doing very, very well."
PAST EXPERIENCE
"I’ve been involved with some really good clubs, and, ten years at Chelsea gave me a really solid foundation, before moving on and having two periods at Liverpool, in between that a period in Brazil - which was fantastic for me, working in a second language and just growing and learning from a different culture. And then five of the last six years I've spent up in Rangers, in Scotland, which is a big club in between a bit of time with Aston Villa and QPR, so I feel like I’ve seen a lot of things in football. I’m under no illusions of the size of this club, and how passionate the fanbase are, and how much that their push behind this team is what makes this club what it is, and I’m hoping to bring in some ideas and combine it with the good work - the biggest thing for me, with this club in this moment in time, is the vision from Kyril through to Kristjaan into myself, and I’m really aligned with that, I feel that this is a fantastic moment for me to be joining the club."
COACHING STYLE
"I’m a hands-on coach, so I’m on the pitch every single day, I need to drive it, I need to show that energy and that passion, I need to ensure that the team are a team for the fans, in terms of the work-ethic and what they wanna see, the basics of football first and, as I say my background has been on-field coaching, that’s where I’m at the best, on the pitch with the players, and I’m determined to lead from the front, in that aspect, however, I’m coming into a staff that are liked, there’s one or two people in the staff that I’m familiar of from our past in academy football coming through, and I’m looking forward to tapping into the good work that’s already been done."
MANAGER VS HEAD COACH?
"Well I went into QPR as a head coach, and originally went into Rangers in the same role, and there was a lot of changes with people leaving, and I got pulled in different places, the thing that I’m really comfortable here is the alignment through the club, my role being in line with that as a head coach and having an opinion and an idea on other aspects of the club, but I want to be the coach of the team, not the manager of the whole football club, so this was a good fit in terms of alignment, the conversations were very smooth, there was a lot of common ground and I’m just looking forward to getting ready now, with this and the exciting future of Sunderland."
SUPPORTERS
"I think the key thing is they want a team that wins on the pitch, that’s exciting to watch, and I think that we’re going to have to fight off of their energy, on the pitch - but it comes from us first, so it’s important that me and the staff and the players provide the energy and the excitement to them, and I know that they’ll back us, home and away. We have the most ferocious support in the Championship, both at the Stadium of Light and at every away ground and that’s going to be so important to us moving forward. It’s a young squad, there’s an element of the Championship being unpredictable, and certainly us having to have some patience with the team at times, but together we’re strong, so it’s important the fans and the players together, are united moving forward."
