Jay Bothroyd believes Mark Hughes is the right man to keep Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League, despite picking up just four points from his first six games.
After winning his opening league game in charge against Wigan Athletic, Hughes has been unable to build on the positive start, adding one more point to QPR’s total with a draw away at Aston Villa.
More worrying are the defeats to fellow strugglers Blackburn Rovers and Wolves; the 1-0 loss at home to West London rivals Fulham on Saturday leaving QPR level on points with 18th-placed Blackburn, albeit with a superior goal difference.
However, despite a poor start, Bothroyd - who has found his first-team opportunities limited following the January acquisitions of Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse – has every faith that Hughes can keep Premier League football at Loftus Road for another season.
“Mark has a lot of Premier League experience and he’s very tactical, organised, and has worked with some of the best players in the world,” Bothroyd told FourFourTwo.com.
“He has been a breath of fresh air; since he has come in everyone has been hungry, and I think you can see that in some of our play. Hopefully we’ll keep on changing and keep getting better."
Bothroyd, who joined QPR in the summer on a free transfer from Cardiff City, spent time under Hughes at Blackburn, and believes the Welshman’s managerial values will benefit the club more than those of former boss Neil Warnock.
“He still has the same values; he loves his teams to be very fit and strong, while also letting the players express themselves.
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"He stresses to everyone that they must know the roles within the systems he plays.
“The way Neil Warnock wanted to play was very direct and you felt that players weren’t used effectively. He looked at my stature and thought it’d be a good idea to lump balls at my head. I’d always try and do my best for the team, but it’s definitely not strength of mine.
“Hughes seems to have a better understanding of the players, individually, and at a time like this, when everyone’s pushing for the same thing, it’s invaluable.”
Jay Bothroyd attended the UK final of the FIFA Interactive World Cup on EA SPORTS’ FIFA 12, which was won by Ty Walton. For more information, visit www.fifa.com/fiwc
By Vithushan Ehantharajah
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
