Next QPR Manager: Ex Tottenham and West Ham stars linked with Loftus Road job

Former Tottenham Hostpur and West Ham players have emerged as frontrunners to take over at QPR.

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QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes was placed on ‘gardening leave’ on Tuesday evening amid links with West Brom, leaving his future at Loftus Road in the lurch.

The 42-year-old has pledged his commitment to his contract earlier this month but that was before reports that his representatives had engaged in talks with the Midlands club. Sky Sports claimed that Cifuentes had not spoken personally to West Brom and that QPR had not been approached by their Championship rivals to facilitate formal discussions.

It has since been confirmed that Cifuentes will not be in charge of QPR this Saturday for the final league game of the season against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. A club statement on Tuesday night read: “Marti Cifuentes has been placed on gardening leave.

“Assistant coaches Kevin Betsy and Xavi Calm will take charge of first-team affairs on an interim basis and prepare the squad for our final fixture of the 2024/25 campaign against Sunderland.”

QPR ‘disappointed’ by Marti Cifuentes situation

Nourry also provided a statement and labelled the situation surrounding Cifuentes as ‘disappointing’. He said: “This is naturally a disappointing situation for everyone concerned. I fully understand and appreciate supporters’ frustrations at this time. As a club, we are working to ensure this matter is resolved as swiftly as possible so we can start preparations in earnest for the future.”

While Cifuentes has not been sacked or had his contract terminated, all signs point towards an imminent change in leadership at Loftus Road ahead of the summer transfer window. The current head coach has been in the position since October 2023, having taken over from Gareth Ainsworth.

The early frontrunner to be the next QPR manager is former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil. The 41-year-old was sacked by the Premier League side in December with the club 19th in the table and four points adrift of safety.

O’Neil had previously been in charge of AFC Bournemouth, where he took over from Scott Parker in August 2022. The former midfielder left the Vitality Stadium at the end of the 2022/23 season and has not managed in the Championship.

A graduate of the Portsmouth youth academy, O’Neil went on to play 192 times for the south coast club. The player did spend time at QPR in his playing career, making 33 appearances for the R’s under Harry Redknapp during the 2013/14 campaign, helping the side win the Championship play-off final. He also played for West Ham, Middlesbrough, Norwich City, Bristol City and Bolton Wanderers.

Gary O’Neil and Ryan Mason linked with Loftus Road job

O’Neil was sent off in the play-off final for QPR after a cynical late challenge on Johnny Russell to end a goalscoring chance. Bobby Zamora then scored a 90th minute winner to help QPR into the Premier League.

Speaking about that challenge to talkSPORT shortly after that match, O’Neil said: “As I was walking off I was thinking, ‘I hope it doesn’t cost us’. I knew it was a risk of a red card if I fouled him, but it was something I had to make a decision on quickly and I decided it was the right way to go.

“It was a tactical foul. If I felt I had any other option, there was no way I would have done it. I have gone through 15 years of playing professional football without being sent off. I was in the tunnel watching it on a tiny screen and I couldn’t see us scoring. I would have snapped your hand off for penalties.

“As it fell to Bob, I still can’t quite believe it now. It makes me laugh out loud when I think about it. After everything that had happened, for it to turn around and work out was amazing.”

Another name linked with becoming the next QPR manager is Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason. The former England international is just 33 years old but retired from football in 2018 after not being able to bounce back from a fractured skull sustained in a coming together with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill while playing for Hull City.

Mason joined the coaching staff at Spurs in April 2018 and had a spell as interim head coach following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in April 2021. He took on a similar role in 2023, winning two, drawing one and losing three of Spurs’ final six fixtures in that campaign.

The coach has not held a permanent head coach or managerial role but was linked with the Anderlecht job in October and held talks with the Belgian side. Speaking after he missed out on that job, Ange Postecoglou said: “I have always worked on the premise that part of my role is also developing coaches and it is something I take great pride in. Ryan is obviously someone who sees himself as one day taking that opportunity. It’s a really important decision for the guys. It’s not like we want them to leave and certainly with Ryan, he is doing a great job for us here.

“To be fair to Ryan, he was pretty straightforward with it. I said to him I didn’t want it drawn out, taking any time, and he didn’t. He is really happy where he is now and committed to us.”

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