Queens Park Rangers may be staring relegation in the face, but Richard Dunne believes the club should appoint Chris Ramsey as their permanent manager.
The Hoops failed to land a permanent replacement when Harry Redknapp left his position in February, so Ramsey was promoted on a short-term basis for the rest of the season. This is the 52-year-old’s first experience as a manager, and so far he has been able to celebrate just two victories with seven of his 11 matches in charge ending in defeat and two in draws.
As a result of this Rangers remain in a dire situation near the foot of the table, and a goalless draw against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon now leaves them four points adrift of safety, and they have also played a game more than fellow strugglers Sunderland, Leicester City and Hull City. Despite this, Dunne believes Ramsey deserves the job on a permanent basis.
“I think he’s done very well since coming in,” the 35-year-old, out of contract in the summer, said. “The lads have responded well to him. The longer he gets in charge, the more he will be able to build a squad himself and I think it will be a positive thing for the club. If the worst does happen and we do get relegated I think he’s more than capable of bringing us back up.”
The draw against the Hammers was particularly painful for QPR due to two reasons. Dunne himself had a rare goal – it would have been his first of the season – chalked off as goalkeeper Adrian was adjudged to have been fouled; and Charlie Austin missed a penalty. The 25-year-old has scored 17 times for the capital club this term, and as such, nobody is blaming him for this mishap.
Dunne added: “No one’s going to criticise him. He’s put away so many chances. He’s the one who has got us there so there’s no blame attached to him – it was just one of those things,” whilst Ramsey also reminded Sky Sports viewers: “We’ve relied too much on Charlie, I think and obviously he has had a huge impact on where we are and the amount of points that we’ve accumulated.”
Although QPR are far from relegated just yet, their schedule doesn’t look too promising. They travel to face Liverpool on 2 May, which is followed by another tricky appointment in the north when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium the week later. Their one remaining home match is an absolute must-win against a Newcastle United side who could yet be dragged into the scrap, before a potentially massive clash at Leicester City on the final day.
Does Chris Ramsey deserve the Queens Park Rangers job on a permanent basis, and will they be able to bounce back from that Charlie Austin penalty miss?
