Sunderland has named Michael Beale as their new head coach, securing his services until the summer of 2026.

The appointment follows the departure of Tony Mowbray earlier this month, and the Black Cats express confidence in Beale's ability to guide them back to the Premier League.

Beale, who left the Gers two months ago, said: "It's a huge honour to be joining the Sunderland family.

"The existing coaching team deserve huge credit for the way they navigated the interim period.

"Like all of the staff at the club, they will continue to be vitally important moving forward alongside the incredible fans that make SAFC such a unique club.

"It's clear there is some excellent work being done at senior and academy level and I'm excited to support those efforts and implement my own ideas as we build on the strong identity already established within the club."

Sunderland's recent struggles under Tony Mowbray led to his departure, despite guiding the team to the playoffs last season. The standout performances of Jobe Bellingham and interim coach Mike Dodds have kept their promotion hopes alive.

Currently seventh in the Championship table, Sunderland is gearing up for their upcoming game against Coventry at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Sporting director Kristjaan Speakman expressed delight in securing Michael Beale as the new head coach, citing the club's long-term monitoring of his career.

"He has an excellent and well-founded reputation for developing players and he is an outstanding progressive coach aligned with our playing identity and naturally fits within our structure alongside Mike and the wider team.

"We continue to trust in our established process of identifying the right candidates to take us forward at these junctures and although Michael has had a setback, we feel we are getting him at the right time in his coaching journey and our journey as a club."

Michael Beale, with prior Championship experience, garnered praise during his tenure as QPR boss from June to November 2022.

Subsequently, he assumed the managerial role at Ibrox. However, his stint in Scotland proved less successful, marked by a lack of trophy wins with Rangers, leading to his dismissal after only 10 months in charge.