Post by QPR Report on Apr 1, 2010 15:37:56 GMT
Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times
Cook's recipe for success at QPR
IN many ways, Lee Cook's fortunes over the last few years have mirrored those of his beloved QPR.
False hopes of Premier League football and enormous potential that seemed to be going to waste - but finally both Cook and his club are emerging out of the darkness again.
Injury and a change of manager at Fulham scuppered Cook's chances of featuring in the top flight and, when he returned to Loftus Road, a botched knee operation kept him on the sidelines again for long periods.
The 27-year-old winger has been flitting in and out of the team since Neil Warnock took over as Rangers boss, but promises that fans will see the best of him again next season, if not in the remainder of this one.
"I played four or five games and felt really good, then unfortunately for me I picked up the flu and missed training, which was bad timing with the new boss coming in," Cook recalled. "Obviously the lads got a couple of results, so I had to be kind of patient and I'm only just getting into the swing of it again.
"Now I want to get a few more appearances under my belt before the end of the season, continue my work throughout the summer and I'll come back strong as ever.
"The manager feels I can play anywhere across that front line and I agree with him. I played there before at Watford, I kept switching about and got a few goals from that position, which I enjoyed."
Cook's recent goal against Derby County was only the second time he had found the net since 2007, when he played a key role in Rangers' escape from relegation and then joined Fulham in a £2.5m transfer.
While the winger's Craven Cottage career quickly turned into a nightmare, so did the brave new era mooted at QPR, as the club degenerated into farce and turmoil under the Flavio Briatore regime.
But Cook, who is fast approaching 200 career appearances for the team he supported as a youngster, believes the appointment of Warnock enables Rangers to finally begin contemplating a brighter future.
"I think this is a different situation," he added. "We know this is a more stable appointment because the new chairman's come out and given him a three and a half year contract and said 'this is us, let's go for it'.
"You can see the work-rate has upped 10 or 20 per cent and we can't get lethargic and think that the season's finished. Everyone's trying to impress him and be the first name on the team sheet.
"It's been a difficult season, but there's a different atmosphere now and, as long as we finish the season on a high, which I think we will, we can take that into next season. There are good times ahead.
www.kilburntimes.co.uk/content/camden/kilburntimes/QPR/story.aspx?brand=KLBTOnline&category=QPRNews&tBrand=KLBTOnline&tCategory=defaultQPR&itemid=WeED01%20Apr%202010%2016%3A22%3A55%3A260
Cook's recipe for success at QPR
IN many ways, Lee Cook's fortunes over the last few years have mirrored those of his beloved QPR.
False hopes of Premier League football and enormous potential that seemed to be going to waste - but finally both Cook and his club are emerging out of the darkness again.
Injury and a change of manager at Fulham scuppered Cook's chances of featuring in the top flight and, when he returned to Loftus Road, a botched knee operation kept him on the sidelines again for long periods.
The 27-year-old winger has been flitting in and out of the team since Neil Warnock took over as Rangers boss, but promises that fans will see the best of him again next season, if not in the remainder of this one.
"I played four or five games and felt really good, then unfortunately for me I picked up the flu and missed training, which was bad timing with the new boss coming in," Cook recalled. "Obviously the lads got a couple of results, so I had to be kind of patient and I'm only just getting into the swing of it again.
"Now I want to get a few more appearances under my belt before the end of the season, continue my work throughout the summer and I'll come back strong as ever.
"The manager feels I can play anywhere across that front line and I agree with him. I played there before at Watford, I kept switching about and got a few goals from that position, which I enjoyed."
Cook's recent goal against Derby County was only the second time he had found the net since 2007, when he played a key role in Rangers' escape from relegation and then joined Fulham in a £2.5m transfer.
While the winger's Craven Cottage career quickly turned into a nightmare, so did the brave new era mooted at QPR, as the club degenerated into farce and turmoil under the Flavio Briatore regime.
But Cook, who is fast approaching 200 career appearances for the team he supported as a youngster, believes the appointment of Warnock enables Rangers to finally begin contemplating a brighter future.
"I think this is a different situation," he added. "We know this is a more stable appointment because the new chairman's come out and given him a three and a half year contract and said 'this is us, let's go for it'.
"You can see the work-rate has upped 10 or 20 per cent and we can't get lethargic and think that the season's finished. Everyone's trying to impress him and be the first name on the team sheet.
"It's been a difficult season, but there's a different atmosphere now and, as long as we finish the season on a high, which I think we will, we can take that into next season. There are good times ahead.
www.kilburntimes.co.uk/content/camden/kilburntimes/QPR/story.aspx?brand=KLBTOnline&category=QPRNews&tBrand=KLBTOnline&tCategory=defaultQPR&itemid=WeED01%20Apr%202010%2016%3A22%3A55%3A260
