Tony Fernandes has urged the Queens Park Rangers fans to stand by under-fire manager Harry Redknapp, following a poor sequence of results.
A 3-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday evening was their fifth reverse in eight league fixtures, and leaves them in fourth place and some 10 points off an automatic promotion place. Indeed, if this form continues, there is a very real danger that the Loftus Road club could even slip out of contention for a playoff position.
It is perhaps little wonder, then, that many of their supporters have taken to twitter to voice their displeasure in the direction of Fernandes. However, the QPR chairman, who should be praised for the continued interaction he has via the social media tool, insists he remains fully supportive of Redknapp and the players, and has urged the fans to do the same.
“Being negative is so so wrong. We learn and we move. There are a few games left,” he replied. “Who likes to lose. But come on guys. Stop blaming everyone. Let’s stick together and do our best to get up. The person who should be most depressed is me. But I am not. We are building and building. And we make mistakes and we learn.
“In troubled times now is the time to stand behind your club manager and players. I stand by my players. Full stop and my manager. Look a leader stands behind his troops. Now is the time we should rally round Harry and the players. No one wants to lose. Last season was a disaster. Full stop. We have stopped the rot. Every year we will rebuild.”
Redknapp must now pick up his players for the trip to Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon, before they end the calendar month with successive home matches against Wigan Athletic and Blackpool. This will take them up to the 39-game mark, and they will have a further indication if automatic promotion is a reality or not.
Redknapp sent Kevin Bond to speak to the assembled press following the damaging defeat at Hillsborough, and the assistant manager admitted: “We would like to get promotion back to the Premier League at the end of the season. That is still our aim. It would be lovely to get promoted automatically but I accept it’s a tall order.”
