Very strange timing to say the least but Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has resigned, saying his impending knee surgery would otherwise dent the club’s battle to avoid relegation.
“Sadly, I need immediate surgery on my knee which is going to stop me from doing my job in the coming weeks,” said Redknapp, who arrived at Loftus Road in November 2012, in a club statement. “It means I won’t be able to be out on the training pitch every day, and if I can’t give 100 per cent I feel it’s better for someone else to take over the reins.
“My relationship with Tony Fernandes has been one of the highlights of my footballing career and I wish the club every success,” the former West Ham, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspur manager added. “I am confident they will survive in the Premier League this year. I have had such a fantastic time at QPR. I would like to thank the Board, the players and all my staff, and especially the supporters who have been absolutely fantastic to me since I arrived at the club for their tremendous support.”
QPR have struggled all season, winning just five league games so far this season, and setting a Premier League record for consecutive defeats away from home.
This was not a decision that Redknapp and QPR owner Tony Fernandes just reached. So why wait until after the window closed to make a managerial decision? Why not bring in a new boss and give him an opportunity to bring in a player or two that fits his system.
By not doing that, and by standing pat in January, it looks like Fernandes has made the decision that he is not spending anymore money and if the get relegated, so be it.
QPR, with only Leicester below them in the table, are one point shy of safety and a favourable result against Southampton, another of Redknapp’s former clubs, could see them climb out of the bottom three this weekend.
