Tim Sherwood reveals why he 'fancied' QPR manager's job | OneFootball

Tim Sherwood has answered whether he'd ever be open to managing at QPR

QPR hired Julien Stéphan to replace Martí Cifuentes in the summer and the Frenchman is close to concluding his first season at Loftus Road.

The London outfit finished 15th in the table last year, and are now targeting a top half result in 2026.

The gap to the play-off places is 10 points with just seven games remaining, which may prove too big of a gap to close down in the final weeks of the term.

However, two wins in a row in their fixtures prior to the March international break lifted the atmosphere around the club after a brief losing run.

Stéphan’s position is not under threat, with the Hoops hoping he can be the man to bring them back to the Premier League in the long run.

QPR have not competed in the top flight since 2015, and their best finish since then was a ninth place in 2021.

Tim Sherwood opens the door to QPR move

Tim Sherwood has left the door open to managing QPR someday, if Stéphan were to depart, claiming that he once turned down the opportunity to take over at Loftus Road.

He praised what the current manager is doing in bringing through younger players, but revealed that he came close to taking on the role years before prior to his move to Aston Villa.

“You’re [Stephan] bringing young players through. I had the opportunity to go there in the past and went to Aston Villa instead, it was when Les Ferdinand — a pal of mine — was sporting director,” said Sherwood, via Sky Sports.

“I always fancied that job because I thought with the tight ground and everyone on top of you, you can get that bouncing if you get some results going.

“Never say never.”

Sherwood has previously managed at Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, with his time at Villa Park coming to an end in October 2015.

He lasted 28 games each at both clubs, winning 24 times in total, with the Midlands outfit suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2015/16.

A poor start to the campaign laid the foundation for their 20th place finish, with Rémi Garde overseeing the confirmation of their relegation.

The 57-year-old led Spurs to a sixth place finish as an interim coach, and his most notable contribution was bringing through Harry Kane from the academy system.

Meanwhile, QPR are now 12th in the Championship table, 10 points behind sixth place Southampton with just seven games to go.

The Hoops earned wins against Leicester City and Portsmouth prior to the March international break, scoring nine and conceding two in the process.

They will be targeting a first top half of the table finish since 2021 during the run-in, with their first game back in action coming on 3 April with a home clash against Watford.

Tim Sherwood’s time as a manager has passed

If QPR needed a new manager any time soon and appointed Sherwood then there’s no doubt that it would not go down well among supporters.

His limited coaching experience is not particularly compelling, with his sides playing a very basic style of football that didn’t achieve consistent results.

The former midfielder also hasn’t worked as a coach for over a decade, and the game has changed drastically in that time, meaning his methods have fallen even more by the wayside.

Things are going well with Stéphan at the moment, and his position should not be in doubt going into the summer, and the appointment of Sherwood highlights how much worse it could get for the Hoops.