Michael Beale would be perfect Rangers appointment says Livingston manager David Martindale

QPR manager Michael Beale would be the right appointment for Rangers as they begin the search for a new manager, according to Livingston boss David Martindale.

Ibrox bosses have begun the search for a successor to Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who was sacked on Monday, and Beale, who worked as assistant to Steven Gerrard during his time in Govan, is the bookmakers’ favourite for the job and strongly tipped to take up the role.

Martindale has also been linked with the post and, though the manager has ambitions for his career, he distanced himself from that speculation.

“Nobody has been in touch,” he said. “I don’t envisage anyone being in touch.

“I look forward to seeing who Rangers bring in.”

Asked about Beale, he said that there were obvious advantages to appointing someone who had a history with the club, and also said that a British manager would be less of a risk than an appointment from overseas.

“I don’t want to speak out of turn because it’s not my place to talk about other clubs and other managers but I think Michael would be a great fit for Rangers,” Martindale said.

“That’s up to Michael Beale and Rangers Football Club, not David Martindale.

“Would that be a good fit? Probably but I don’t know more than you do.

“I’m a big advocate for British managers. I think someone with a knowledge of British football [is preferable].

“It’s easy to be a bit more clever and go down the foreign route – and I think Ange Postecoglou has been a fantastic signing for Celtic, but I think there’s a correlation between Australian and British football culture. Sometimes I think you can bring a foreign coach in and it can be difficult. There’s a lot of talent in the UK market, though I am slightly biased being a Scottish manager.

“Would I like to see Michael get the job over a foreign manager? Yes I would but that’s just my personal preference. I think there’s a lot of talent in Scotland. I see Sean Dyche has been linked and he’s another fantastic talent.

“I like to see progression within the British game and I think there’s a lot to be said for hiring someone with knowledge of the players and knowledge of Scottish football.”

Martindale has been named as the Glen’s Premiership manager of the month after Livingston took seven points from a possible nine in October. Only a last-minute Hearts equaliser stopped Livi from taking maximum points but their haul has helped move them up to fourth in the table, just behind Aberdeen.

The manager, who said that the award was a collective prize for all the players and staff, is reluctant to set targets publicly but said his side are capable of a memorable season and high league finish.

“You can only [look at European places] by picking points up,” he said. “We look at, and deal with, every game in isolation. Look at that after you pick your three points up.

“Do I think this collective group can finish in the top four? Yeah, I do.

“Do I think we can finish top six? Yes, I do.

“Is the collective objective at this moment in time finishing [at least] tenth? Yes, it is.

“The league can change very quickly. Probably taking away Celtic, the team to beat since Ange has built a formidable squad, Rangers is having a wee bit of a difficult time and I think Hearts being out of Europe are going to be stronger as they get their players back.

“From second to 12th do we really know how the league is going to fall? It’s a really, really tight group of teams and anything can happen.

“I don’t think anybody is nailed on for second at this point in time. And I don’t think you could hand on heart say this team is going to finish 12th in the Premiership.

“I try not to look at it and just get three points on the Saturday. Dundee United is the next focus, then Celtic and then Hibs.

“This group of players is probably the strongest I have had in my time in the Premiership. I’ve had the luxury now of having around ten or 11 windows. So this group of players should be the strongest I’ve had because I’ve had those windows to build it.

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly.”