Harry Redknapp's link with Ukraine could have forced QPR's hand - The Guardian

Harry Redknapp is poised to become the manager of Queen's Park Rangers following Mark Hughes's dismissal by the Premier League's bottom club on Friday. The 65-year-old returns to work five months after being let go by Tottenham Hotspur, despite guiding the club to fourth in the table.

Redknapp's representatives were still holding talks with QPR on Friday night but his appointment is expected to be confirmed after Saturday's trip to Manchester United, where he will watch his new club from the stands.

Hughes's exit came as no surprise after he had failed to guide the team to even one league victory this season despite lavish investment during the summer, yet the timing of his dismissal was curious.

Changing manager on the eve of a match away to United hardly constitutes ideal preparation. In contrast to Roman Abramovich, who unceremoniously sacked Roberto Di Matteo within hours of Chelsea's midweek defeat at Juventus, QPR's owner, Tony Fernandes, agonised long and hard over whether to give up on Hughes. Last Saturday's emphatic defeat by Southampton left the club with only four points from 12 matches.

Since appointing Hughes in January Fernandes had been vociferous in his backing of the manager, continually extolling the Welshman's acumen and the merits of stability. Indeed, his tweets to that effect often went beyond being supportive to almost worshipful. The defeat to Southampton, in a match that he had billed as a must-win and which produced a performance that Hughes admitted was the worst since he arrived, led to the owner questioning his faith like never before.

Hughes appeared to have survived a board meeting on Monday but Fernandes, who is in Malaysia, spent the last few days on the telephone listening to the opinions of staff at Loftus Road – including several players – as well as his fellow shareholders, Amit Bhatia and Ruben Gnanalingam.

The manager's fate may have been sealed by the prospect of his most obvious replacement being unavailable. Overtures from the Ukrainian Football Association to Redknapp could have helped force Fernandes's hand.

Hughes may have feared the chop but was still caught off guard. He was scheduled to oversee training on Friday before hosting a press conference to preview the trip to Old Trafford but instead he arrived for work and was told by the club's chief executive chairman, Philip Beard, that his time was up.

"Queens Park Rangers Football Club has terminated the contract of manager Mark Hughes with immediate effect," read a statement on the club's website a short time later. "This decision has been taken after careful consideration by the board of directors, following numerous meetings over the last few days.

"The board of directors wish to thank Mark for his commitment, hard work and dedication in his 10 months in charge. Mark has shown integrity and professionalism throughout his time here but ultimately the circumstances we find ourselves in have left the board with very little choice but to make a change. The board will now be working actively to put a new managerial structure in place as soon as possible."

Within hours the club began negotiating with Redknapp to take over. They held talks in the afternoon, with Redknapp declaring that he would like his long-time associates Joe Jordan and Kevin Bond to be brought on board too. The club want Redknapp to mount a similar rescue mission to the one he accomplished at White Hart Lane when he salvaged a talented squad who had sunk to second from bottom under the Spaniard Juande Ramos.

QPR are five points from safety already and have the worst goal difference in the league as they head to second-placed United. Relegation could be ruinous for a club who invested heavily in players over the summer, offering tempting wages to attract the likes of Park Ji-sung and Fábio da Silva from United, the Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César from Internazionale and Esteban Granero on loan from Real Madrid.

Premier League television revenue is due to rise by 71% by next season and missing out on that would be particularly galling for a club with lofty ambitions but a ground capacity of only 18,500.

Redknapp's job will be to get the best out of players who have underperformed this season but also, perhaps, to make additions to a squad who look imbalanced. Hughes recruited a plethora of midfielders but, partially due to injury, has relatively few options in defence and up front.

It would be understandable, and not entirely out of character, if Redknapp suggested venturing into the transfer market again in January. That month will also see QPR host Tottenham in a match that has taken on a new significance.