And next time anyone criticizes the Mirror! From a year ago
"Oiver Holt/The Mirror -Why the newspapers aren't to blame for Terrygate, and QPR have finally got it right with Warnock
"...QPR have made plenty of mistakes in managerial appointments in the past couple of years.
- At last, they’ve got one right by giving the job to Neil Warnock.
- He’ll bring them the success their fans deserve
And Standard from a year ago - Promotion!
Neil Warnock is looking up, not down, as he moves in at QPR
Simon Johnson 03.03.10 Paul Hart looking forward to Crystal Palace challenge
Neil Warnock today vowed he will not only keep Queens Park Rangers in the Championship this season but aims to have them in the Premier League next year.
Warnock has become QPR's fifth manager this term after a compensation deal was finally agreed with cash-strapped Crystal Palace.
He has swapped one relegation fight for another as Rangers sit just three points ahead of his former club in the table, who themselves are only out of the drop zone on goal difference.
The 61-year-old took his first training session with his new squad yesterday and saw enough quality to be convinced they will stay in the second tier of English football come May.
But Warnock is adamant that with the right signings in the summer, he can fulfil his ambition to manage in the top flight again having experienced just two years of it at Notts County and Sheffield United.
He said: “It is a big, big club and I am really excited about it. I want to manage in the Premier League sooner rather than later and my aim is to achieve that ambition before the end of my contract, irrespective of clubs who still have the parachute payments or any of the decent sides coming down.
“I am looking to be there next year. If I was in a normal situation I would usually say it would take two full seasons, but at my age I don't want it to take that long.
“I enjoyed meeting with the chairman Ishan Saksena and the vice-chairman Amit Bhatia. I believed in what they were talking about, what their views are and how they see the future for the club.”
Warnock's QPR reign begins with the visit of second-placed West Brom and in the following four games they face play-off hopefuls Sheffield United and Swansea and relegation rivals Plymouth and Reading.
“The first priority is to get enough points to stay up,” said Warnock. “I know it will be tight at the bottom end, we have some tough fixtures. Without question, the players have a lot of ability. I am hoping to put a bit of steel in certain positions and get a happy blend.
“The first day of training went well yesterday. It went as I expected, nice and bright. I had a good talk with all of the players and it is a case of getting to know them now. I told them that if we are to get out of this relegation battle then they need to show a lot of commitment and desire. But they shouldn't worry about the position in the table, they should just go out and enjoy the games, although we can't have a much tougher start than on Saturday.
“I hope to create the same team spirit as I did at Palace, but that didn't come overnight. You have to work on that over a long time, it took me nearly 12 months to do it there.”
His departure from Palace ended in acrimony after he fell out with administrator Brendan Guilfoyle, who has run the club since it went into administration in January.
Guilfoyle issued a statement yesterday claiming he did everything to keep Warnock at Selhurst Park, but that his focus was no longer on securing the club's status in the Championship'.
Warnock has dismissed Guilfoyle's version of events and insists he still has regrets over the way his time at Palace was cut short.
He added: “I saw the statement put out and there is only so much I can say at the moment but I don't think the Palace fans are daft. When they see what I will say about it, they will realise what really happened.
“I'm having my first QPR press conference tomorrow so I will make one or two comments but Palace want to gag me from saying anything so I have to be careful.
“But I want to make it clear that Palace is the best club I have ever been at in terms of the supporters. I'm hoping to have the same thing at QPR.”
Warnock spent just under two-and-a-half-years at Palace and he has promised not to make a move for any of his former players on loan so that the club have a better chance of staying up.
“I don't want to do anything that will disrupt their challenge,” said Warnock, who will face his old side at Selhurst Park on 10 April.
“I want both clubs to stay up this season. It is my dream scenario. There are a good bunch of lads at Palace. I know them inside out. They definitely have enough mettle and commitment to stay up. I'm going to try and install the same qualities in the players I have now.”
Meanwhile, Paul Hart, Warnock's replacement at Palace, is optimistic he can keep them up in the same way he succeeded at Portsmouth in the Premier league 12 months ago.
“I get some comfort in seeing the names in the squad, experienced players and strong characters,” said Hart.
“It's very similar to Portsmouth last year, where there were strong characters who just needed a little shove.”
Not good
