Hughes appointed QPR manager

Mark Hughes was today confirmed as Queens Park Rangers' new manager after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract. The 48-year-old succeeded Neil Warnock, who lost his job on Sunday night after QPR slumped to within a point of the Premier League relegation zone. Hughes appeared already to have been earmarked as Warnock's replacement, with the former Manchester City and Wales boss commencing formal talks with the west London club yesterday. The former striker quit Fulham at the end of last season after less than a year in charge, suggesting the club's ambitions did not match his own. Hughes therefore sought assurances on that front before agreeing to join QPR, who were taken over earlier this season by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes. Reports suggest Fernandes is ready to bankroll a January recruitment drive which could see £20-30m of new talent arrive at Loftus Road, with plans for a new 30,000-seater stadium also in the pipeline. Hughes, who will take charge of first-team training this afternoon before being formally unveiled tomorrow, told the club's official website: "It's a great feeling to be back in football and to be the manager of QPR. I'm fully aware of the challenge in the short and long term, and I am genuinely excited about the ambition of the owners. "Nobody can doubt the history of this great football club and the passion of its fantastically loyal supporters. Now the immediate priority is to consolidate our place in the Barclays Premier League, but beyond that, the future is very bright and fills me with great enthusiasm."