Redknapp may not be the saviour for QPR

Dubai: As the calls for Harry Redknapp to succeed Mark Hughes at QPR increase, it’s fair to ask whether or not the former Tottenham manager is the right man to stop the rot at Loftus Road.

Hughes has the lowest win percentage of any incumbent English Premier League manager at just 23.53 per cent with eight wins and six draws in 34 matches since taking charge in January, while QPR are the only team in all four tiers of English football yet to have recorded a win this season.

This is unacceptable given the fact QPR were among the busiest clubs in this summer’s transfer market. And after Tony Fernandes and the Mittal Family’s 2011 takeover it’s also surprising, as they are theoretically one of the country’s richest clubs.

Hughes has to go — but Redknapp as his replacement remains a questionable choice. You only have to recall his attempt to save Southampton from Premier League relegation in 2004/05 to understand Harry’s probably not the firefighter type of coach Rangers need at this time.

He took over in the November of that season, when they only had one win in 14 matches, but he couldn’t stop Southampton’s 27-year reign in the top flight from ending come the following May.

And while he did achieve miracles in keeping West Ham United and Portsmouth from the drop and leading them to mid-table positions and more within his tenure, he did this as a manager from the start of a season and not midway through.

Redknapp led Tottenham out of the relegation zone and up towards Champions League football within four years at Spurs, but he only took over in October 2008, when they were eight games in with two points to show for their efforts.

QPR currently have four points from 12 games, five points adrift of safety, and there isn’t now the same presumption — like there always was with Spurs and Saints — that QPR can turn it around.

While Redknapp would be an emotional choice based on his ability to enter a club with a bang and get the best out of average players on a shoestring budget, his record in this situation with less impressionable players would make it an interesting gamble.