Exclusive

Mark Warburton interview: QPR boss on being afforded time in football, building his squad and play-off hopes

"Go back a year I was probably a game away from being in real trouble." How Mark Warburton discusses the upward trajectory of QPR in the past year after being given patience to progress.

Simeon Gholam

EFL Editor @simgholam

Sunday 12 December 2021 15:56, UK

Mark Warburton knows as well as anyone how important the gift of patience can be in football.

A brief setback at home to Stoke last weekend does not cloud what a terrific 2021 it has been for QPR. And how different things looked roughly this time last December.

"Go back a year I was probably a game away from being in real trouble," Warburton tells Sky Sports after winning the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for November.

"We were sitting in 19th, playing well but not getting results. But here we are a year later and we're sitting in the top six, with people talking about promotion."

QPR are right in the mix for the play-offs. It is so different to the picture in December last year, when they had won just four games all season and were sat 19th in the table.

The QPR hierarchy could have pulled the plug. But instead they stuck with their man, and are now reaping the rewards.

It was a decision that has benefitted all parties, with QPR now playing an attractive brand of football, featuring some of the most exciting players in the Championship.

"I've been given the luxury of time, and with the quality of staff we have here we have been able to build an environment which is conducive to players coming in, developing and learning," Warburton continues. "The guys always have to enjoy coming in in the morning, working hard and leaving better off. That puts us in a good place.

"I've seen a lot of changes, and I've seen young players develop. It always comes down to any individual being given the time to put their mark on the club."

We have already seen seven managerial changes since the start of August in the Championship.

It is a source of great frustration to Warburton, whose experience in his past career as a trader in the city, and his time working as sporting director at Brentford, has left him with a great understanding of the importance of stability in any business.

There are times when the amount of upheaval within football is unfathomable to him.

"It just seems to me you have to trust a manager or a coach to work with the Director of Football and board to spend money and build a squad," he says.

"You have to show your quality, and have confidence and belief in your ability. I knew this time last year we were very close. We were playing good football but not reaping the rewards.

"But the additions of the likes of Stefan Johansen, Charlie Austin and Sam Field coming in has helped. They boosted us and they showed their quality to help us on the tremendous run in the second half of last season that we have carried on into this year.

"But those things take time. We were 19th, playing Wycombe and the pressure was on. The media, quite rightly, were piling the pressure on because that's their job.

"The club could have made a change but they didn't. It happened to me at Nottingham Forest and it hurt. It hurt because we were hitting every KPI (key performance indicator) and there are not many businesses where there is such a constant turnover. A club the stature of Forest needs stability. That's what the best clubs have.

"I understand the emotions of the game, and what it means to the local community. It's so significant and I know someone has to be accountable when things aren't going well. But maybe there sometimes has to be a message from above to say: 'We know we are going through a tough time, but we believe in what we are doing and we're sticking with it'.

"The knee-jerk reactions can often come from noise on social media platforms. Very often it can be a minority who are loud and vocal, and unfortunately people are impacted by this. It's all for controversy and to seek a reaction. Often it's not feelings reflected by the majority of a fan base.

"Time is a commodity you need. As a sporting director at Brentford I had the chance to implement things at a club and look at the whole structure, which helped play a big part in creating the environment in which people were coming to work in every day.

"Here at QPR that was the key. The instability was fairly evident. Managers changed quickly for a variety of reasons. To run a football club you need a calm mind and a level head to see the bigger picture. And if people can do that the clubs will benefit accordingly."

QPR are benefitting from that patience. A top-two push might be a bit of a stretch, but with the quality in their squad the play-offs are a real ambition - which is a position they have been nowhere near since their last relegation from the Premier League in 2015.

There are financial constraints and a thinner squad than Warburton would like, which is a situation he hopes to improve in January. Shrewd additions last winter helped QPR kick on and enjoy a brilliant end to the season, and he is hoping it is something they can replicate again, but this time from a much stronger launching position.

"In my first year we came 13th, and last year we came ninth," he says. "So it would be foolish to say that we don't have to keep pushing for a play-off place, because anything less than that and the supporters would say we lack ambition and desire.

"The reality is our budget is probably 13th or 14th in the league, so from a financial perspective mid-table is where we should be. But we know we want more than that.

"You look at the size of some of the clubs and the budgets around us. Some could blow us out of the water. But we'll be judged by improving on last year's position. Anything less than that would be a failure.

"We are down to the bare bones in terms of our squad so we'll need to add one or two. But January is notoriously difficult. Everyone is fishing in the same pond and there are very few fish down there.

"There won't be huge transfers going through anywhere, and the loan market will be used. But the ones that can get those one or two in like we did last year can have a huge impact."

With a few more shrewd additions and a drop of luck, it could be a season to remember for QPR.