Things are looking down for Harry Redknapp but he’s still a believer

 
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Giuseppe Muro8 April 2013

Harry Redknapp refuses to give up but Queens Park Rangers’ fate appears to be sealed and Tony Fernandes will soon be planning for life in the Championship.

The question now is whether Redknapp and QPR owner Fernandes will stay together at Loftus Road to mastermind an immediate return to the Premier League next season.

Both have vowed not to walk away but it remains to be seen whether keeping Redknapp in charge is financially viable if QPR are relegated.

The 66-year-old manager signed a two-and-a-half year contract thought to be worth £3million per season when he replaced Mark Hughes in November. Redknapp admits the club’s finances will dictate his future and QPR last month reported their debts had increased to nearly £90m.

Relegation will have serious implications, despite Fernandes’s willingness to invest heavily, and Redknapp’s departure could be one of them.

Yesterday’s agonising draw with Wigan leaves QPR seven points from safety with just six games left. Despite Redknapp’s words of encouragement, relegation looks inevitable.

Redknapp has targeted five wins from the remaining six matches to stay up, a tall order for a team who have managed only four League victories all season.

The 15 points he estimates are needed for safety will have to come from games against Everton (a), Stoke (h), Reading (a), Arsenal (h), Newcastle (h) and Liverpool (a).

“It is going to be hard now,” said Redknapp, who has not managed outside the top flight since 2005, when he lasted four months at Southampton before leaving for Portsmouth.

“If we had won, it would have given us a lift to go on a run and stay up. Three points would have made a massive difference and you would have thought we could have won four games.

“We have got to keep going. I can’t ask for any more than the players have given. We can’t give up. We are a much improved team but unfortunately it is hard when you are playing catch-up all year.”

Fernandes, who is committed to QPR even if are they relegated, is keen for the former Spurs boss to stay at Loftus Road.

Fernandes tweeted today: “It’s another day. And we move on. Stay strong and keep smiling. Through adversity comes strength. I for one am no quitter.”

If Redknapp does remain at the club, he will oversee a mass summer clear-out of his playing staff while preparing for life in the Championship.

QPR have spent £45m on new players since the start of the season and the huge wage bill that has created will need to be significantly reduced.

Loic Remy, Chris Samba, Esteban Granero, Julio Cesar, Stephane Mbia, Park Ji-Sung and Jose Bosingwa will all be up for sale but the club may encounter difficulties in off-loading their highest earners, given their hefty salaries.

Of those players who are likely to move, goalkeeper Cesar has already been linked with a move to AC Milan and Remy is reportedly wanted by Arsenal.

It would be easy to see why Remy has caught Arsene Wenger’s eye. The France international has impressed since an £8m move from Marseille in January and his spectacular goal yesterday — his fifth in the Premier League — looked to have given QPR three points.That was until Shaun Maloney’s equaliser in the fourth and final minute of injury time left Redknapp ruing the cruellest moment of his management career.

“You don’t always get what you deserve in football and in life and we didn’t get what we deserved,” said Redknapp.

“But will I give up? No, we have got to keep trying.”

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