Rangers have sacked manager Michael Beale after less than a year in charge at Ibrox.

The Englishman was appointed as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s successor last November as he returned to the club where he helped Rangers lift their 55th league title as part of Steven Gerrard’s backroom team.

But his reign as boss has now come to a premature end after a disastrous start to the season that leaves Rangers well adrift of Celtic in the Premiership title race once again.

Beale was heavily backed in the transfer market during the summer as he spent significant sums to sign the likes of Danilo, Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers. Keeper Jack Butland and midfielder Jose Cifuentes were also notable acquisitions that were sanctioned as a part of an extensive rebuild.

Those deals have failed to pay dividends, however, and Rangers, who lost to Kilmarnock on the opening day of the campaign, were humbled 5-1 by PSV Eindhoven as they missed out on a place in the Champions League this term.

Beale then saw his side crash to a costly defeat to Celtic at Ibrox and a 3-1 loss to Aberdeen has proven to be the final straw for chairman John Bennett and his board as the search for the next manager now gets underway on the eve of the international break.

Rangers overcame St Johnstone, Real Betis, Motherwell and Livingston on the back of the Old Firm reverse but that run was not enough to save Beale after furious fans repeatedly turned on him and his players and made their feelings clear at Ibrox.

“That’s someone else’s decision,” Beale said when asked if he was confident that he would get the time to turn Rangers’ fortunes around. “All I can do is continue with the job the best I can. We felt we prepared well enough tactically

“We went over and around it first half and created the chances. It’s a really bad result and we feel the frustration and despair because we share it inside as staff and players because first half we had enough chances to win that game

“Other teams have been here before, even last couple of years, and turned it around. We need to show better form than we have been. Today was the biggest domestic team since Celtic and we lost.

“Listen it’s a situation that’s escalated much faster than I thought. I thought it was harsh to boo them off at half-time. We conceded from a set play but we played well enough to be 2-0 or 3-0 up. 

“I get the frustration, they follow this club all around. It’s the fourth home game in ten days and pretty much all of them have been sold out. Sometimes the supporters could help the players but one or two could help themselves.”