The Championship side offered McClaren a job working alongside manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
Steve McClaren
Steve McClaren has rejected the chance to join Queens Park Rangers in some capacity, with The Sun claiming that he feared his arrival may heap the pressure on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
The Sun reports that the former England boss was approached about returning to the backroom team at Loftus Road, having previously worked with the club during Harry Redknapp’s tenure, in a role that would see him work alongside the current manager Hasselbaink.
However, McClaren – whose last managerial job came at Newcastle United last season – has turned down the move as he was worried that it would increase speculation surrounding the Dutchman’s future, The Sun adds.
That pressure on Hasselbaink – who played under McClaren at Middlesbrough during his playing days – has seemingly arisen in the wake of the side’s disappointing start to the new campaign. The Hoops have failed to win any of their last five games in all competitions, and suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat in front of their own fans against Newcastle.
Had McClaren taken the role that was on the table, and had the side’s struggles continued to the point that the board did decide to make a change, some supporters may have felt that McClaren’s initial appointment was made in preparation for the change in the dug-out rather than it being an appointment designed to help Hasselbaink through this difficult patch.
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