Michael Beale has paid tribute to Steven Gerrard following his appointment as Rangers manager.

The club's former first team coach has returned to fill the hotseat vacated by Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

He has signed on the dotted line until 2026 after Rangers reached an agreement with QPR to bring the Englishman to Glasgow.

He previously spent three-and-a-half years with the Ibrox club serving under Gerrard, having been drafted into the England legend's backroom staff from Liverpool's academy.

Now, as he officially stands as the 18th manager of Rangers, Beale has thanked Gerrard for bringing him to the club back in 2018.

Asked about his previous success with the club, he told RangersTV: "It means I know what it took to get there. Before that, it took a lot of hard work and harship as well, sometimes after a low you'll have your greatest high. I learnt that from Steven Gerrard, that were his words to me.

"I want to mention Steven because he's a great friend and the journey I had here before. 

"The reason I'm back now is because he brought me to the club in the first instance. 

"He did a fantastic job during that period. Gio came in, won a cup and got to a Europa League final which was an unbelievable achievement. He took us all on that journey as fans of the club.

"There's a number of players here that have been on both of those journeys. In the last 18-months we've won a league unbeaten and a Scottish Cup. We've also played in a Europa League final. 

"This group of players in my eyes are winners. It's important that we continue to win moving forward."

In his first interview as Gers manager, Beale also touched upon his good relations with the board, other staff members and of course the players. 

He insists he has a strong squad at his disposal, and he can't wait to get to work with them. 

Beale added: "It will help the settling in period. It will be very smooth. 

"I know everyone and we can get straight to work today. 

"The relationships will be slightly different because my role has changed from before. 

"But I want to drive the standards and I want the players to drive the standards. I want to lead from the front. I want to win and I want to win in style.

"I want to make people happy and proud of their football club.

"At this football club you're never too far away from the big waves in football and the big bumps in the road. We're aware of that, but we need to move forward and move forward quickly.

"These few weeks are extremely beneficial. We know at this moment in time we're missing some key players through injury. It's important that we get them back quickly because our squad will be a great deal stronger for that.

"The squad is very well balanced, it's a strong squad. These were the things that excited me about coming back. It wasn't just the friendships before, it was believing in this group and believing they can go on to be very successful. 

"I'm really excited to get to work with them. It's going to be a mini-pre-season in terms of ideas and identity. I want us to be on the front-foot, to take the handbrake off and for us to go for it every single week. I think that's what makes this crowd get excited. 

"The fans come to see their team win, but they also come to be entertained. It's important that we both of those things."

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