Harry in talks to fill void at QPR

Winless QPR are set to appoint Harry Redknapp as their new boss as they bid to stave off relegation.

The troubled west Londoners look set to turn to Redknapp after Mark Hughes left the club yesterday having failed to guide the Rs to a win in 12 Barclays Premier League games.

“Hopefully we can get it done tonight, there shouldn’t be any problems,” Redknapp said last night.

QPR chief executive Philip Beard was more evasive when asked if Redknapp would be the man to succeed Hughes.

“It’s too early to say,” Beard said. “But we’re going to work hard to make the right decision for QPR and the fans.

“A difficult decision has been made, now we’ve got to focus on finding a successor.”

Redknapp, 65, took charge of Spurs when the club were bottom of the table and ended up guiding the north London side to two fourth-place finishes during his spell at White Hart Lane.

Since being sacked as Spurs boss in June, Redknapp acted in an advisory role to Bournemouth and was also recently linked with the vacant post as manager of the Ukraine national team.

When asked by the BBC whether he will be a guest of the club at QPR today, as they face Manchester United at Old Trafford, Redknapp said: “We will have to wait and see.”

Hughes was sacked early yesterday. As well as being unable to guide QPR to a league win this season Hughes had struggled to pick up results since replacing Neil Warnock as manager back in January.

Rangers won only eight games in all competitions under the Welshman and it was reported Hughes rejected the chance to resign from his position in a meeting at the club’s training ground last Monday.

QPR owner Tony Fernandes consistently came out on Twitter to back Hughes but the 3-1 home defeat to fellow strugglers Southampton last weekend appears to have been the final straw for the board.

The sacking came just 24 hours before QPR’s trip to Old Trafford and the board seem to have acted quickly in contacting former Tottenham boss Redknapp to replace Hughes, something they stressed was of importance.

“The board will now be working actively to put a new managerial structure in place as soon as possible,” the statement read.

“Mark Bowen and Eddie Niedzwiecki will take charge of the Rs’ trip to Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League this afternoon.”

After facing the Red Devils, Rangers’ next three league fixtures all come against sides in the bottom six.

A trip to Sunderland on Tuesday is followed by a home game against Aston Villa and a clash with Wigan at the DW Stadium.

If Redknapp takes charge he will face back-to-back matches with two of his former sides in January, with a home game against Spurs on the 14th preceding a trip to West Ham’s Upton Park five days later.