Former Rangers and Sunderland manager Michael Beale has been interviewed for the vacant managerial position at Hull City.

That’s according to Football Insider’s Peter O’Rourke. The Tigers are on the hunt for a new head coach following the departure of Rubén Sellés, who left the club after overseeing a disappointing 2024-25 campaign that nearly ended in relegation from the Championship. Hull finished 21st, narrowly avoiding the drop until a late-season collapse sealed.

Beale, who most recently worked in Saudi Arabia, is reportedly under consideration as Hull seek a fresh start. The 43-year-old is also believed to be a leading candidate for the Cardiff City job, with EFL Analysis reporting that he is the preferred choice of the Bluebirds’ hierarchy as they aim to bounce back following relegation.

Beale’s coaching career has been varied. He first rose to prominence as Steven Gerrard’s assistant at Rangers, helping the Glasgow club secure their first Scottish Premiership title in a decade. He later followed Gerrard to Aston Villa before striking out on his own with QPR in 2022, guiding the club to the top of the Championship early in his tenure.

However, subsequent stints proved more challenging. Beale returned to Rangers as manager in late 2022 but lasted less than a year. He then took over at Sunderland in December 2023, but his tenure was cut short after just 12 games, making it one of the shortest managerial stints in the club’s history.

Speaking about his exit from Sunderland in an interview last year, Beale said: “It was difficult, if I’m honest, the only club where I’ve not enjoyed working. It’s just a feeling, I think everyone went in with the right intentions, but it wasn’t the right fit. I was a bit perplexed coming in from the outside because the people that made the decision to bring me in, they have to consider all of that. They were very keen to bring me in, I went in with all the intentions of working with the staff there, but to bring one of my own in as well.

“It hurt that one, because there’s only really so much one person can do in eight weeks. There’s things I could have done better, but the environment I went into, it was difficult, it’s not how you’d want to go into a club. Eight weeks is short, but I think it was best for all parties not to prolong it.”

What has Le Bris said about the play-off final against Sheffield United?

Régis Le Bris hailed Sunderland’s campaign as a tremendous success, regardless of the outcome at Wembley — but insists his squad are fully focused on finishing the season in the best way possible.

The head coach is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits in the Championship play-off final, with opponents Sheffield United amassing 92 points during the regular season, despite starting with a two-point deduction, and cruising past Bristol City 6-0 on aggregate in their semi-final.

Following their  exhausting two-legged win over Coventry City, Sunderland’s players and staff were given Wednesday off to recover. Preparations for the Wembley showdown will begin in earnest when they return to the training ground on Thursday.

“Getting to the final shows that this season has been fantastic,” Le Bris said. “It is very important to say that because you can win or lose at the end, but what we have lived together this season was absolutely brilliant. We cannot forget that. But at the same time, it is really important to think about Wembley now and the final game we have to play. We have one more game. It will be another tough challenge, but we will be really focused on that game now. We will switch our attention to Wembley towards the end of the week, and then we will have a full week to prepare for the game. That is the next step for us now.”

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