Queens Park Rangers are looking for a new manager after sacking Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Queens Park Rangers confirmed on Saturday evening that manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has lost his job after less than a year in charge.
Hasselbaink, 44, earned rave reviews with Burton Albion having won more than 60% of his games in charge of the Brewers, but left for Loftus Road in December 2015.
The Dutchman struggled with QPR though, winning only 13 of his 47 games in charge for a win rate of just 27.7% – and after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, owner Tony Fernandes decided to sack Hasselbaink.
General view outside Loftus Road
Hasselbaink leaves QPR in 17th place in the Championship table, six points clear of the relegation zone and six points off the play-offs, with Fernandes clearly feeling that QPR needed a change.
Fernandes now has the international break to find a new manager, and bookmakers have been pricing up odds for who could become the new QPR boss – and here are five of the most notable movers today, as compiled by Oddschecker.
Former Watford manager Gianfranco Zola
Tim Sherwood: Many expected Sherwood to land the QPR job given his relationship with his former Spurs colleague Les Ferdinand, who is QPR’s director of football. However, today is the first time that Sherwood hasn’t been the favourite for the job since Hasselbaink was sacked, as he’s plummeted to as far as 14/1 in a shock turn of events, making him an outsider for the job now.
Gianfranco Zola: A name to have come from nowhere today, Zola is now as short as 4/1 to become the new QPR manager – a move which would mean he would replace his former Chelsea team-mate Hasselbaink. Most recently in charge of Al-Arabi in Qatar, Zola did a decent job at Watford but struggled at Cagliari, meaning appointing the Italian would be a major gamble.
Karl Robinson: Robinson, 36, recently left MK Dons in League One, but remains highly thought of by many in the Championship. His one campaign in the second tier didn’t go too well, as MK Dons were relegated last season, but his philosophy of attractive, passing football has earned plaudits, and he’s in at 11/4 for the job this evening.
Millwall manager Ian Holloway
Nigel Pearson: Pearson has been out of work since losing his job at Derby County last month, despite only taking over the Rams during the summer. With just three wins in 14 games, Pearson struggled at the iPro Stadium, and desperately needs to rebuild his reputation having won promotion to the Premier League with Leicester City in 2014, and then kept them up before losing his job in 2015. Now 20/1 for the QPR job, Pearson appears to be a dark horse.
Ian Holloway: Holloway is a Loftus Road hero, having played for the club and then returned to spend almost five years as their manager. Now working as a pundit for Sky Sports, Holloway hasn’t been in management since leaving Millwall in March 2015, but is a popular choice for the job due to his standing at Loftus Road. Now the odds-on favourite for the job at 8/15, Holloway could be making a shock return to West London.
Who would you like to see QPR appoint as their new manager?
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