24 February 2023 , 12:10
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Rangers head coach Michael Beale has called on people to donate blood after revealing that his young niece’s cancer has relapsed.
The former Queens Park Rangers boss, who has also previously worked as Steven Gerrard’s assistant in Glasgow and at Aston Villa, published a heartfelt post on his Instagram account urging people to register with charities such as Anthony Nolan and join donor lists.
Beale said that niece Poppy rang the hospital bell to signal the end of her treatment in December but her parents have now learned that she has relapsed and must undergo another round of treatment.
“Our beautiful niece Poppy - just a baby and she has gone through so much in her life already. In December 2022 she rang the bell for the end of her cancer treatment, “ Beale wrote.
“This week, her parents received the devastating news she had relapsed. Poppy is now fighting this horrible disease head on again. It’s heartbreaking for her parents, little brother & the extended family.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
“Poppy is likely to need blood transfusions and platelet transfusions during her relapse process. To help families who are fighting blood cancer, please register/sign up / tag these amazing people @givebloodnhs @anthonynolancharity @dkms_uk and join the donor list.”
Blood Cancer UK say that it is the fifth most common type of cancer in the country, with more than 41,000 people being diagnosed with it every year. An estimated 250,000 people are living with blood cancer in the UK.
Michael Beale left QPR to join Rangers in late November. (Ian Tuttle/REX/Shutterstock)Beale, 42, joined Rangers from QPR in November after also turning down an offer to take the Wolves job. They have won 13 of his 14 games in charge.
Rangers face rivals Celtic in the Scottish League Cup final on Sunday and trail their neighbours by nine points in the league table.
"We'll definitely be going to win it," Beale said ahead of the Hampden Park clash.
"We're confident going into the game. We're 14 unbeaten since I came in but there was two more before that under Gio [van Bronckhorst, his predecessor] so that's 16 for the team across the three competitions," Beale said.
"I'm delighted with where we're at, we've got one or two to come back hopefully that will make the squad stronger but it's a cup final everyone in the country should look forward to with two teams going into it on the back of fantastic form and we won't be giving a backward step and I'm sure they won't either."
To find out more about blood cancer click here.