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Livingston manager David Martindale believes QPR boss Michael Beale would be “a great fit” for the Rangers vacancy.

The 42-year-old, who was an influential former coach at Ibrox under Steven Gerrard, has emerged as the favourite to succeed Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who was sacked on Monday after a year at the helm.

Beale left his role as assistant at Aston Villa to go out on his own at Loftus Road in the summer and his team currently sit seventh in the English Championship. Martindale, who dismissed himself as a contender for the role, believes the Englishman would be a logical appointment.

“I don’t want to speak out of turn because it’s not my place to talk about other clubs and other managers but I think Michael would be a great fit for Rangers,” said Martindale after he was named Glen’s Premiership manager of the month for November.

“That’s up to Michael Beale and Rangers Football Club, not David Martindale.

“Would that be a good fit? Probably but I don’t know more than you do.

“I’m a big advocate for British managers. I think someone with a knowledge of British football (is preferable).

“It’s easy to be a bit more clever and go down the foreign route, and I think Ange Postecoglou has been a fantastic signing for Celtic, but I think there’s a correlation between Australian and British football culture.

“Sometimes I think you can bring a foreign coach in and it can be difficult. There’s a lot of talent in the UK market, though I am slightly biased being a Scottish manager.

“Would I like to see Michael get the job over a foreign manager? Yes, I would, but that’s just my personal preference. I think there’s a lot of talent in Scotland. I see Sean Dyche has been linked and he’s another fantastic talent.

“I like to see progression within the British game and I think there’s a lot to be said for hiring someone with knowledge of the players and knowledge of Scottish football.”

Martindale, a boyhood Rangers supporter who has been loosely linked with the vacancy on the back of Livingston’s impressive start to the season, laughed off suggestions that he is a contender to take over at Ibrox.

“Nobody’s been in touch, and I don’t envisage anybody being in touch,” he said.

Martindale feels Van Bronckhorst, who led Rangers to the Europa League final just six months ago, paid for being unable to deliver the consistency of results demanded by one of Scotland’s biggest clubs.

“I am a big believer in continuity but when you look at form, when you are at one of the big clubs in Scotland, you have got to win games of football,” he said.

“When you are at the Old Firm you have probably got to win every game of football.

“So when you are not winning games of football and you are expected to win every game of football, there is only (one outcome), and that is probably the manager is going to leave the football club.

“There is a different expectation at the top two in Scotland, it’s a very, very harsh environment.”