Hughes pays tribute to QPR icon McDonald McDonald played for Northern Ireland in the 1986 World Cup. 07/02/2014 By David McIntyre Recent QPR signing Aaron Hughes has paid tribute to Alan McDonald, calling the Loftus Road legend âa great player and great leader.â McDonald, who died suddenly in June 2012, aged 48, spent 17 years at Rangers and played 52 times for his country. He was an inspirational figure for the likes of Hughes who followed in his footsteps in the Northern Ireland side, where McDonald also had a spell as part of the coaching set-up. Hughes spent nearly seven years with Fulham. Hughes, who could make his QPR debut against Derby on Monday, said: âBeing from Northern Ireland Iâm very aware of what he did here. âI missed playing with him by a few years but I knew him because he did a lot of work with the first team and also the Under-21s. âHe was a great character, a great player and great leader. He was a great centre-half â so strong and aggressive. âIf I could come here and perform anything like he did, Iâd be doing well.â Hughes, 34, was signed from neighbours Fulham before last weekâs transfer deadline because of Rangersâ injury problems at the back. He considers himself a central defender but has also spent much of his career at right-back, where his new club need cover for the injured Danny Simpson. âIâm a centre-back. Thatâs my position. But I had a couple of years at Aston Villa as a right-back and Iâve played there for the national team,â Hughes explained. âRight-back is a position Iâm familiar with, so wherever Iâm asked to play Iâll just play as best I can.â
