Following the sacking of Neil Critchley after just one win in his 12 games in charge, Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth is favourites to become the new boss, according to Simon Jones and Ash Rose from Daily Mail
QPR started the season with all glory, as it potentially looked like they could return to the promise-land of the Premier League. Unfortunately, it started to fall apart when Michael Beale left his role as head-coach, heading up to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
From there, Critchley took over the role in December, but with just one victory in a dozen games, he was relieved of his duties at the weekend, following QPR’s 3-1 defeat to Middlesbrough.
Now QPR sit 17th in the Championship, as they begin to look for their third manager of the season, in a bid to try and save their pre-season aims of pushing for the play-offs.
The favourites for the newly available role in West London, is no other than former player and long-term Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth.
Ainsworth has enjoyed a long 10-year spell with the Chairboys, which has saw him take the club from the bottom of League Two to the Championship.
Wycombe are currently 7th in League One, as they sit just outside the playoff spots by three points, having played a game more bit got a great win against Bolton Wanderers at the weekend.
One of the main factors that could attract Ainsworth for the new role will be his former time their as a player. The 49-year old spent seven years at the Hoops, where he went on to make 141 appearances for the club – the longest he spent at any club as a player.
Ainsworth also started his managerial career in that spell, when he took over as caretaker manager in a player-coach role.
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Writer’s View
QPR are a club is desperate need off an identify after the last few months of football they have been playing. It hasn’t been an easy time for them of late, but they can change that will the right hire.
Ainsworth is a fantastic coach that has 30 years of experience, from playing or coaching in the Football League. He plays in a very attacking style with a high intensity press, that fans would love to see and he has been linked with the role on two separate occasions, but opted to stay with Wycombe.
From a QPR’s perspective, I think it would be a nice hire bringing in a manager who is player-friendly and familiar with the fans. You would have to worry about most of his experience as a coach coming from the League One and Two level, but he knows how to get his side promotions and led his side to promotion in the 2019/20 season via the play-offs.
It’s rare you see a manager stay at a club for so long like Gareth has done, but a move up a division to a club he has good history with, could be temping to pray him away.
