Poor start in Scottish Premiership leads to departure of Rangers manager Michael Beale
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — A third defeat in seven Scottish Premiership games led to Rangers firing manager Michael Beale on Sunday and putting club favorite Steven Davis in interim charge.
Calls for Beale’s departure increased following the 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen at Ibrox on Saturday, with the players again booed off the field.
The Light Blues are in third place and seven points behind rival Celtic at the top.
Ahead of the Europa League match against Aris Limassol in Cyprus on Thursday night, Rangers released a statement which outlined the changes.
“The Rangers board would like to put on record their thanks to Michael and his staff for their efforts since joining the club last November," the statement said.
"Results this season have fallen short of what everyone connected to Rangers would expect. Therefore, the decision was reached today to terminate the contract of the manager ... The club is pleased to announce that Steven Davis will lead the interim management team.
“The team will consist of former Rangers player and hugely experienced coach Alex Rae, former player and current coach Steven Smith, coach Brian Gilmour and goalkeeping coach Colin Stewart.”
Former midfielder Davis’ contract expired at the end of last season but the club had been letting him use the facilities for his rehabilitation following a serious knee injury.
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