West Brom v QPR preview: Gym has fixed it for Hoops claims Hughes Published 21:30 13/04/12 By MirrorFootball QPR boss Mark Hughes refuses to sweat over his sideâs relegation worries â having worked out that the club's gym was partly to blame for the trouble they were in when he arrived. Hughes branded the facilities at Rangersâ ramshackle training ground as more suited to a youth club than a Premier League club when he took over from Neil Warnock in January. He claimed they needed a âcomplete overhaulâ - and now the gym has been fixed, he says a weight has been lifted from his playersâ shoulders. But the Welshman still thinks leading QPR to safety will rank as one of his greatest achievements as a boss, although he is certain he can pull it off. QPR will be two points above the drop zone when they kick off Saturdayâs away game against West Brom, and Hughes said: âWhen I arrived there were fundamental problems we had to address, and it takes time. âThe gym is a prime example. "When we walked into the gym, it wasnât fit for purpose, it wasnât a working area. âThere was plenty of machinery that would look great in a commercial gym with a different type of membership, but it wasnât a working gym for a professional football club. âThere was the wrong equipment in there to be able to do your work. "Everybody does it differently, but it wasnât quite right. âAll that had to change. We have had to rip things out and change the whole situation there. As a consequence you find people start to migrate there. âIt was a complete overhaul in the gym. Absolutely. People need to understand that this is where the majority of our work gets done. â Hughes is impressed with how his men have dealt with their run-in, with wins over Arsenal and Liverpool plus a narrow loss away to Manchester United in recent weeks. But he added: âStaying up would rank right up there at the top [of his achievements]. "It is difficult, I havenât done it before - coming in halfway through a season. âThere is a feeling, not only in the team but in the club as well, that there are people involved that are trying to drive it in the right direction. âWe have overcome a number of the hurdles that people would have expected us to succumb to. âWe are on a high and have probably over-achieved from 10 games to go up to this point, but there is a lot more that we need to do before we can stay we can stay in the league. âWhat we need to do is try and get something out of every game we play. "Everyone keeps going on about how hard our run-in is, but itâs no more difficult than a lot of other teams.â *** SHANE LONG has Queens Park Rangers in his sights again as he aims to underline his Euro 2012 claims, writes James Nursey. West Brom's Irish striker, 25, is fit again and keen to secure his spot in Giovanni Trapattoni's squad. He started in midweek at Man City but has not made successive starts for the Baggies since the turn of the year due to back and chest problems. Long has a good record against Rangers, after scoring an 81st-minute equaliser in December's 1-1 draw at Loftus Road. He also netted against the west Londoners for Reading last term in the Championship before a £6.5million move to The Hawthorns. Now Long hopes to ensure Albion's mathematical survival with victory against struggling QPR, who beat Swansea in midweek to boost their hopes. Seven-goal Long said: "I'd like to start against QPR as I know all about them from last year. "They're a bit of a changed side and they got a good result on Wednesday night, so they'll be well up for it. "I think we'll go two up front on Saturday as we're at home. We need to take the game to QPR and come away with a result. "Although we respect them as players we know we're capable of beating them. We have to go out and show that on Saturday." http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/West-Brom-v-QPR-preview-Renovating-gym-at-training-ground-under-Hughes-has-sparked-Rangers-improvement-bogeyman-Long-looking-to-score-against-Rangers-once-again-article890034.html
I'm getting more and more impressed with Spunky's attention to detail and overall thoroughness. I was not exactly cock-a-hoop when he was appointed, and even less so when initial results went against the Rs. I confess that there were times when I stared wistfully into the middle distance and fleetingly dreamt of what might have been had Warnock stayed. But no more. Hughes appears to have made the squad fitter, better understand what is required of them both as individuals and as a team, as well as shown faith in faltering talent that was showing signs of decay under Warnock. I hate to slag off Warnock as we should never forget the miracle of 2010/11 and the signings of messrs Taarabt, Kenny, Hill, Derry and Mackie. But there now should be no doubt that Warnock was found wanting both tactically and technically at this level. Spunky has spent his entire career in and around the PL, Bundesliga and Primera Liga, being exposed to and implementing the best in training methods, working under successful managers and coaches and rubbing shoulders with characters at this level whose positive habits rub off. Mix this up with Hughes' own self-belief and intelligence. It is no surprise that the likes of Mackie, Taarabt and Buzsaky are thriving, whilst old lags such as Hill and Derry are shown the faith and support they deserve as the top pros that they undoubtedly are. And then there's the signings of Taiwo, Onuoha and Diakite, each of whom have been valuable additions to the squad. Even Barton is looking like an R now, prepared to dig in and graft for a team, rather than play the King Rat role that he assumed at the start of his career at Loftus Road. Long way to go and Hughes' appointment can only really be vindicated if the Rs stay up, but it's looking better by the week. Shame we've had to start from here, as this team & management (to me at least) looks 'top-half' had it had been assembled for last August. Three points today, please Mark!
I was saying this in January. I have always rated MH very highly, even proposed him whenever a top position have appeared, like with Liverpool last January. He's a more accomplished manager than O'Neill in my eyes, I know most on here disagree with that and was saying so when O'Neill got instant results with S'land and MH started slowly. Never in million years did I think we could get a top top manager like him onboard. So I was obviously over the moon when TF managed to get MH. On a side note, I'm also of the oppinion that former strikers make the best managers. Sir Alex Ferguson, the late great Brian Clough and Ottmar Hitzfeld to name but a few. Super post by the way Uber
If we go down we go down and I have to admit that the club is looking a lot better than i expected. We are after all still two places above where you wanted us to finish. We are at last playing good composed football
Where I thought we'd finish. Hughes is patting himself on the back already yet we're well and truly up sh*t creek. He should keep schtum until hes succeeded in his objective.
Don't worry brother it will all come good even if we drop... look on the bright side at least we have a new gym ... Watch the four year plan again to see where we have come from. If we survive expect a very optimistic prediction from me for next season ... This is at last a team again regardless of the personnel
Well I suppose when you're sitting in Oakwell on a pissing Tuesday night, you can take solace in One Size having toned his Pecks. Have a day off would ye?
