Why Fernandes and QPR will stand by Hughes in tough times By Neil Ashton PUBLISHED: 22:30 GMT, 4 November 2012 | UPDATED: 22:30 GMT, 4 November 2012 Comments (0) Share .. For all the howls among supporters demanding the removal of Mark Hughes at the final whistle, the regulars have remarkably short memories. Ten years ago this month QPR were beaten by Vauxhall Motors in an FA Cup first-round tie at Loftus Road, beaten on penalties by a team from the Unibond League in front of 5,336 desperate souls. In 2002, Rangersâ idea of a local derby was a fixture against Brentford and the closest they came to the Premier League was a ground-sharing agreement with upwardly mobile neighbours Fulham. Have faith: Mark Hughes is widely considered under pressure but Tony Fernandes talks of progress and plans In the intervening years they have churned through 14 managers and some of them, including Mick Harford, Gareth Ainsworth and Paul Hart, didnât even take charge for 10 games. They have come a long way since then, hauling themselves into the Barclays Premier League and underlining their ambitions with an enormous outlay under Tony Fernandes. The QPR chairman is standing by his man, underwriting a multi-million-pound overhaul of the club and keeping his cool as Rangers continue to search for their first win. He made that clear on Sunday, peppering his programme notes with buzzwords â âstabilityâ, progressâ and âplansâ â and backing his man to the heavens. Fernandes was in town again, watching his investment struggle to find the rhythm and the impetus to carry QPR over the line against an ordinary Reading team. Owner and manager talk every day, but there is nothing like watching the team in the flesh. They talked again on Sunday, agreeing that Rangers are functional and organised, but afraid to pile forward in case promoted Reading caught them with a swift counter-attack. Even after Djibril Cisseâs second-half equaliser they lacked purpose, fading away as they settled for a fourth draw in the Premier League. Fernandes has ambitious plans for QPR, ploughing money into new training centres for the first team as part of a long-term strategy. Keeping his cool: Fernandes with chief executive Philip Beard In the short term, they must escape from the bottom three, uniting a squad again after a depressing start to their second successive season in the top flight. Hughes has not been helped by the comments of his striker Bobby Zamora, falling out of love with the game and benched on Sunday with a hip injury. The former England striker, who eventually came on to replace Jamie Mackie with 10 minutes remaining, revealed that he doesnât like watching football â and not just QPR. Brian McDermott had done his homework on them, making notes with his director of football Nicky Hammond when they came to watch West Ham win at Loftus Road on October 1. Off colour: Bobby Zamora needs to pull his socks up Readingâs manager is old school, travelling the country to watch the opposition weeks in advance as the pair plot a way to stay in the Premier League. It is too easy for modern managers to rely on the ProZone statistics that pop up on laptops at training grounds across the country after every game. The league table is the barometer for every team, but even QPRâs staff are beginning to avoid eye contact with it. After 10 games without a win, even the clubâs programme editor has stopped printing the table. . Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...d-Mark-Hughes--Neil-Ashton.html#ixzz2BL1biOqG Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
