'I have to...': Michael Beale sends message to Sunderland fans unconvinced by his appointment

Michael Beale says he has no issue with how Sunderland supporters have reacted to his appointment and insists it is up to him to prove he is up to the task.

Beale was confirmed as Tony Mowbray's successor earlier this week and in his first press conference said he was well aware that that many were underwhelmed with the decision.

Asked for his message to those supporters, Beale said: "It has taken me a long time to get into this room. It has been 20+ years. I feel like I've done the hard yards, at Chelsea, Liverpool, going across to Brazil.. I've worked with a lot of young players who've gone on to be some of the finest players in the country. Obviously that's not just me and there's a lot of people involved in that but I've seen what it looks like, that elite, top level.

"I've had nearly 300 games as assistant boss in Brazil, at Rangers and in the Premier League as well. I've done European games, I've seen pretty much everything that there is to see. I stepped out on my own and at QPR, we started really well and everyone was in a real positive way. Each job is different, you learn and you grow. All I would say to the fans is the most important people are the players who go on the pitch, and if they go on and perform and are in a good way, then I'll earn credit with the fans. But I have to earn it. The moment we enter the stadium on Saturday and the game kicks off, they will support their team. So I am already indebted to them for that. I've got to earn their respect and I aim to do that over time. "The fans will judge me on what they see moving forward," he added.

"I've no problem with the reaction because it tells me that they love their club and that it's important to them, and they're protecting it. They're asking the right questions and protecting it from a guy who is from a different part of the country, that's just come out of a high-profile job where he's deemed not to have been successful. I would say that the win percentage and the changes I went through need a little bit more of a look at, if I'm honest, and the proof will be in what I do next.

"It's a huge opportunity and I think I'm the right person for it, but I've got to earn the right to be part of the Sunderland family. I don't see all of the noise because I'm focused on the job, but I'd have to live on the moon not to be aware of it. I've had a bit of stick from the staff about it! It's because they love the club, and that's what makes the club what it is. I'll have to win them over and that's what I'm here to do. If I was worried about it, I wouldn't be sat here now and I'd have gone and taken an easier job.

"This excites me, the potential here. When you start out coaching and playing, isn't this what you want? Biggest crowd in the Championship, selling out every away game... that's the power and the strength that you want. If you're going to work in football, work at a club that matters. Work where there's expectation, because that's where there is potential."

Beale will take charge of his first game when Coventry City visit the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon.