QPR are on the lookout for a new manager following the sacking of Neil Critchley in the aftermath of their 3-1 away defeat to Middlesbrough at the weekend.
Critchley joined the Loftus Road club in early December following Michael Beale’s shock departure to Rangers and came in with a glowing reputation having impressed with Blackpool, earning them promotion from League One in 2020/21, however, things just didn’t work out, as QPR won just one of their 12 matches under his management.
Championship| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 |  |  Reading | 38 | 13 | 6 | 19 | -18 | 45 |
| 19 |  |  QPR | 38 | 11 | 9 | 18 | -21 | 42 |
| 20 | |  Rotherham | 37 | 9 | 13 | 15 | -10 | 40 |
Gareth Ainsworth is the favourite for the vacancy at QPR and would likely be a popular choice having made 141 league appearances for the R’s between 2003 and 2010.
Ainsworth has only ever had one full-time managerial role in football, having taken charge of Wycombe in September 2012, managing the Chairboys 550 times, earning promotion from League Two back in the 2017/18 season, as well as winning the League One play-offs in 2019/20.
Wycombe managed to reach League One’s play-offs last season, having sneaked in on the final day of the season at the expense of Plymouth Argyle, giving Ainsworth a second opportunity to see his men play in the Championship for the second time in their history, however, they failed to grasp the opportunity and are currently seventh in League One and are vying for another shot at the second-tier.
Recently sacked Southampton manager Nathan Jones has emerged as one of the contenders for the job at QPR.
Jones started his coaching career at Brighton in 2013, serving as an assistant manager to the likes of Oscar Garcia, Sami Hyypia and Chris Hughton, before being demoted to first-team coach by the latter.
As a manager, the majority of Jones’ success has been with Luton Town, having earned promotion from League Two with the Hatters in 2016/17 via a second-place finish. He also laid down the foundations for Luton in 2018/19, leaving them second in League One in January before taking the Stoke City job where he won just six of his 38 games in charge.
Jones made a shock return to Luton and turned their Championship fortunes on their head, having helped them survive from what looked like an impossible situation towards the end of 2019/20 season, before overseeing their qualification for the play-offs last season.
The Welshman will be keen to bounce back having lost his job at Southampton on 12th February following five wins and nine losses in 14 games, with four of his victories being in cup competitions.
QPR are priced at 4/1 to appoint Jones as their next manager.
Crystal Palace first-team coach Shaun Derry is also in contention for the job at QPR.
The 45-year-old made 92 appearances for QPR between 2010 and 2013 and won the Championship with the club in the 2010/11 season.
Derry has previously had managerial experience as manager of Notts County and Cambridge United with the initial spell lasting between November 2013 and March 2015, winning 26 of his 77 matches in charge, while Derry’s spell at Cambridge was a fairly long one, managing them from November 2015 to February 2018, winning 38.7% of his games at the helm.
Could Derry make a shock move back to Loftus Road? The 45-year-old is priced at 7/1 to do so.
Chris Wilder has been linked to many vacancies of late, with this one at QPR being the latest of the series following his sacking by Middlesbrough in October.
At Boro, Wilder won 18 of his 45 matches in charge at the Riverside Stadium with his record being significantly worsened following a run of two wins in his last 11 matches which left the Teesiders in the relegation zone. However, despite this setback, Wilder will be fondly remembered for times at other clubs he has managed.
Notably, Wilder took Sheffield United to the Premier League via finishing as runner-up in the Championship during the 2018/19 season, this was after winning League One with the Blades in 2016/17. On top of this, he has also managed promotions with the likes of Alfreton Town, Oxford United and Northampton Town.
Wilder is priced at 16/1 to become QPR’s next manager after Critchley.
QPR caretaker coach Paul Hall is also in the frame to get the job at Loftus Road.
The 50-year-old took charge of QPR’s 3-0 loss to Burnley earlier on in the season, but, has a wealth of coaching experience, having been Mansfield Town’s assistant manager back in 2010 and has since been QPR’s U23s Lead Coach from 2015 onwards.
Hall has also coached internationally too, having been Jamaica’s assistant manager in 2021, as well as their interim head coach between 2021 and 2022.
Hammarby Manager, Marti Cifuentes is reportedly on the list of names to replace Critchley at QPR.
The 40-year-old Spaniard has made a decent name for himself outside of his homeland, having coached Danish side Sandefjord, winning 33 and drawing 26 of his 81 games in charge, leading them to promotion back to the top-flight of Danish football, while earning their highest league finish in 11 years the following campaign as they finished 11th in 2020.
Following on from this, Cifuentes moved to Aalborg where he took charge of 40 matches, winning 17 and drawing 11, leaving them in fourth place as he left to join current side Hammarby due to the Allsvenskan side activating his release clause.
So far in Sweden, Cifuentes has won 22 and drawn nine of his 37 matches, equating to a 59.46 win percentage, overseeing an impressive third-place finish last campaign, seeing them qualify for the Europa Conference League.
