Ex-QPR and Sunderland figure on Oxford United manager radar | OneFootball

Michael Beale could become the next man in the Kassam Stadium hotseat

Oxford United are lining up a potential move to appoint former Sunderland, QPR and Rangers head coach, Michael Beale, following the dismissal of Gary Rowett on Tuesday morning.

That is according to a fresh update from Alan Nixon via the journalist's Patreon service, with the U's now firmly on the lookout for their third boss in 12 months after Rowett initially replaced Des Buckingham, who was relieved of his duties at the Kassam Stadium this time last year after initially guiding the club back to the Championship for the first time since 1999 through the League One play-offs.

Oxford have endured a frustrating and slow start to the current second tier season, though, despite the wealth of experience which Rowett was able to initially bring to the club after five previous spells at the level with an array of other sides such as Birmingham City.

With there being just one more game to go until the season officially reaches the halfway point, Oxford are one of the sides who hold the unwanted position of featuring inside the Championship relegation zone on Christmas Day, having taken just 19 points from their first 22 league outings so far this season.

Indeed, the final straw, from Rowett's perspective, proved to be a 1-0 defeat to a recently out-of-form Charlton Athletic side at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.

In a fixture which was seen as pivotal to potentially transforming the fortunes of the remainder of the season for the Addicks and Yellows, Charlie Kelman's strike in the 78th minute ensured that all three points remained in South London, with Oxford chairman, Grant Ferguson, believing that a change in the dugout was a necessary course of action heading towards the upcoming relentless batch of fixtures.

It was confirmed that Rowett had departed the club alongside assistant head coach, Mark Sale, whilst Craig Short will take interim charge of the U's ahead of their Boxing Day encounter with Southampton at the Kassam Stadium alongside Chris Hackett and Lewis Price.

Unsurprisingly, though, attention has already turned to whom the latest head coach in this part of the world will be, with Beale's name emerging as one of the immediate front-runners in the race, according to Nixon's aforementioned report.

The fresh update states that the fact Beale is currently out of work has aided his current position as an early contender for the post at the Kassam Stadium.

Nixon also claims that the 45-year-old would receive support from unnamed figures within the Oxford hierarchy to become the club's latest head coach ahead of a crucial second half of the season.

The journalist further stated that Beale's prior success at the level during an extremely short-lived tenure as the leading figure at Queens Park Rangers before a controversial move to Glasgow Rangers makes him an attractive prospect, regardless of his well-documented spell in charge of Sunderland in December 2023, which proved a disaster as the Black Cats slid down the table after initially being in play-off contention.

It has also been stated in the aforementioned report that Oxford are looking for a new head coach who can get the best out of their current players after a run of just one win in their past 10 Championship outings under Rowett, which came in a rather impressive and surprising fashion against pre-season promotion favourites, Ipswich Town, on November 28th courtesy of goals from Mark Harris and Przemysław Płacheta.

No further contenders have been named in Nixon's update, which emerged just under two hours after Oxford released an official statement confirming Rowett's departure after 54 matches in charge.

Michael Beale would be an intriguing appointment for Oxford United

Beale already has experience of working at Championship level through spells in West London and Wearside, although one would go considerably better than the other.

The Bromley native won nine of his 22 matches in charge of QPR between August and November 2022, yet became public enemy number one at Loftus Road after he departed for Ibrox just months into a three-year contract, before failing to win a major trophy with the Light Blues.

He would then emerge victorious in just four of his 12 league outings in charge of Sunderland after his appointment was initially met with huge scepticism at the Stadium of Light, with the Black Cats hierarchy opting to relieve him of his duties in February 2024.

Beale then reunited with his former Aston Villa colleague, Steven Gerrard, working with the Liverpool legend in an assistant role at Saudi Pro League side, Al-Ettifaq, which also proved short-lived as the duo exited the Middle East in early 2025.

Of course, the expectation levels at Oxford are completely different to the many clubs which Beale has previously worked at, making it an intriguing potential appointment, with the club currently just two points away from safety.