London Football News

QPR star insists McClaren is ‘one of the best’

QPR defender Angel Rangel has praised Steve McClaren following his sacking as QPR boss.

Rangel was without a club when the veteran defender joined Rangers last summer.

The Spaniard posted on Twitter, describing McClaren as “a great man” and “one of the best managers I’ve played for”.

Tim Sherwood, Gary Rowett, Mark Warburton and Michael Appleton lead the race to be QPR’s next manager.

West London Sport reports that Sherwood heads the four-man shortlist to take over.

McClaren was axed in the wake of Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Bolton – Rangers’ 11th defeat in 14 league matches.

“Steve McClaren has left QPR with immediate effect,” QPR confirmed in a statement on Monday.

“McClaren came to Loftus Road as manager last summer and during his time in charge oversaw 46 fixtures, winning 16, drawing nine and losing 21.”

CEO Lee Hoos said: “Making a decision such as this is never easy, particularly when you are talking about someone as professional and dedicated as Steve.

“We are grateful to him for all his efforts during his time with us. It is well documented that we are in a period of transition as we work hard to make the club financially stable. With that comes challenges, not least the cutting of the wage bill while aiming to remain competitive.

“As we look to the future, and taking recent results into account, we feel now is the right time to re-evaluate where we are.”

Director of Football Les Ferdinand added: “Steve has worked incredibly hard during his time with us but as we start to make plans for next year we feel this change is necessary now, rather than wait until the end of the season, or risk having to make such a decision early in the new campaign.”

Chairman Amit Bhatia said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Steve for his hard work during his time with us, and wish him well for the future.

“I would also like to thank our fans for their patience and unwavering support during what has been a very difficult run of results, at a time when the club faces well-documented challenges.

“We must now work towards ending this season positively and building for the future.”




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