Michael Beale has been sacked by Sunderland.

The 43-year-old has lost his second job this season having previously been dismissed by Rangers.

The Londoner was sacked by the Ibrox club at the start of October after a dismal start to the season which saw Celtic march into a seven-point lead at the top of the Premiership.

He spent a couple of months out of work before Sunderland came calling.

Beale was officially appointed by the Championship side as their new head coach on December 18. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.

However, just three months into that contract and 12 games in charge, the Black Cats have removed Beale from his position. Mike Dodds has been appointed as interim manager.

He leaves Sunderland in 10th spot, with their play-off hopes dwindling. 

Since taking over from Beale at Rangers, Philippe Clement has turned their fortunes around.

Rangers now sit top of the pile in the Premiership after a dramatic weekend of action in Scotland's top flight which saw Celtic dropping more domestic points, this time at home to Kilmarnock.

He picked up his first trophy in December with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup final, and his side won their Europa League group, meaning they automatically qualified for the last-16 of the competition. 

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said: “We are disappointed that Michael is leaving Sunderland AFC. Our desire is to improve and unfortunately that hasn’t been evident, as such we take full accountability and feel that acting decisively is in the best interests of the Club.

"This has been a difficult few months for Michael, who leaves with our best wishes for the future. Our focus is now on the players and supporting Mike Dodds in the remaining games to ensure we achieve the highest possible league finish.

"We will be updating our supporters further as and when significant developments are made.”