Michael Beale has branded rumours regarding supposed trouble behind the scenes at Sunderland as 'wide of the mark'.

The former Rangers manager moved to rubbish speculation that he instructed his players to come in for additional training after a damaging defeat to Birmingham at the weekend, which ultimately cost him his job.

Social media reports emerged that tensions were rising between the head coach and his players. This came after Beale appeared to snub Trai Hume for a handshake after the player was substituted.

The Championship club pulled the trigger on the 43-year-old after only 12 games in charge earlier this week. It's the second job he's lost this season having already been dismissed by Rangers.

"Just want to clarify that no players were given extra training after the game at Birmingham," Beale told We Are Sunderland. "All players were off as scheduled on Sunday and back into training yesterday as normal. Saturday was our third game in seven days and the day off was needed for everyone as planned.

"I hope the club find the right manager moving forwards. The fans deserve to get back to the Premier League where a club of this size belongs. I wish the club every success moving forwards.

"The players and staff were a pleasure to work with and reports of issues behind the scenes are a long way wide of the mark."

READ MORE: Tillman hints at PSV stay as Rangers line-up £1.2m windfall

Meanwhile, former Rangers loan star Malik Tillman looks set to complete a £12 million move to PSV Eindhoven in the summer after hinting he wants to remain at the club next season too.

And that could land the Ibrox side a tidy £1.2 million windfall.

The on loan Bayern Munich ace was a big player for the Ibrox side last season, but the deal to make the loan to Scottish football become permanent collapsed this summer after the German giants had a rethink about his future and sent him to the Eredivisie with Rangers' Champions League conquerors PSV instead.