Queens Park Rangers boss Mick Beale is "well respected" by current Rangers players who have worked with him in the past, according to former player Greg Stewart who spoke to the Daily Record.

The 42-year-old previously worked at Ibrox under former boss Steven Gerrard, with the duo spending three years north of the border and even managing to win a Scottish Premiership title, stealing the crown from arch-rivals Celtic.

For that alone, Beale has gone down as a popular figure in the blue half of Glasgow and according to the Daily Record, he is now in pole position to win the top job following yesterday's dismissal of Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

The same report states that the Englishman is interested in a return to his former club, even though he pledged his loyalty to QPR last month by rejecting an approach from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

If he did move back to Ibrox, Beale would have a huge task in trying to drag the Gers back into the title race with the club currently sitting nine points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

Judging by Stewart's comments though, he would have some players onside straight away with those that have worked with him admiring his coaching.

Stewart said: "I know for a fact he’s well respected by the boys at the club who worked with him.

"Believe me, the ones who haven’t would only take a week or two to start thinking the same."

The Verdict:

Stewart was playing for the club during a chunk of Beale's tenure there so this information is definitely reliable - and it's promising for Rangers supporters who will want their side to make an instant impact under their new boss.

That instant impact will be required if they want to have any chance of catching their local rivals and you have to feel Ange Postecoglou's Celtic will see him as a threat considering he was a key part of Gerrard's setup.

His recent form at Loftus Road may not be the best - but he made an exceptional start to the season at QPR and you feel he will only improve further with more experience under his belt.

And his absence at Villa was sorely felt by Gerrard, with former Blackpool boss Neil Critchley failing to have the impact that Beale did with the Midlands side suffering a poor start to the season before the Liverpool legend's dismissal.

He's still inexperienced as a head coach so the Rangers role would be a real test for him, especially with the Gers likely to be competing against some of the best teams in Europe in the coming years in either the Champions League or Europa League.

But he certainly has potential.