Queens Park Rangers are preparing for another season of Championship football but could be without head coach Marti Cifuentes, according to the latest reports.
The Spaniard was appointed as Gareth Ainsworth’s successor in the Loftus Road dugout at the end of October, coming to West London as a relatively unknown entity in English football. Upon his arrival, QPR were six points adrift of safety and were staring down the barrel of relegation to League One.
However, Cifuentes worked his magic and guided the club to safety following a 4-0 thrashing of Leeds United at the back end of April. Ultimately, QPR finished six points above the bottom three, one point below Sunderland who spent the first half of the campaign locked in a battle for the play-offs.
Nevertheless, success brings interest. Reports in Sweden and England have suggested that recently-relegated side Burnley have identified the 41-year-old as a possible replacement for Vincent Kompany, while West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan is another manager on the Clarets’ list. Kompany was announced as the new head coach of Bayern Munich this week, leaving Burnley without a manager heading into the transfer window which opens in two weeks.
Speaking to Football League World, Sheffield Wednesday legend Carlton Palmer has admitted that losing Cifuentes will become a real concern for Queens Park Rangers over the coming weeks but the interest is not surprising.
“It was a remarkable turnaround from Cifuentes, and because of that there’s going to be interest in QPR’s manager, and one of those clubs who are looking at Cifuentes is Burnley, who have just lost their manager Vincent Kompany to Bayern Munich.
“I think there will be a lot of clubs looking at the job that Cifuentes has done at QPR, but I’m sure that if he’s given the chance to do some work in the transfer window in the summer, he’ll be looking to push QPR towards the play-offs next season.
“It remains to be seen now whether Cifuntes will be offered an extension to his contract, and whether he’ll continue the impressive work he’s done, but obviously, it’s a concern for QPR at this present moment in time.”
Writer’s View
There will undoubtedly be interest for Cifuentes after he managed to rescue Queens Park Rangers from the depths of the relegation zone and guided them to safety, playing some really attractive football in the meantime.
Cifuentes is arguably the most important person at QPR right now, just as Danny Rohl is vital to Sheffield Wednesday. Losing him now right before the transfer window opens up could plunge next season into disrepute from the get-go.
Deputy Head of Writing