Queens Park Rangers have sacked Gareth Ainsworth after a sixth straight defeat left them 23rd, six points from safety in the Championship. The 50-year-old, appointed in February after 11 years at Wycombe, won only five of his 28 games and saw his side beaten 2-1 at home by Leicester on Saturday. His assistant, Richard Dobson, has also departed.
Lee Hoos, QPR’s chief executive, said: “Making a call such as this is never easy, and it is even more difficult when you have such respect on both a personal and professional level for the individuals concerned – which we all do for Gareth and Richard.
“Many supporters have told me in recent months that they have never wanted someone to succeed more than Gareth, which is an indication of the fondness everyone associated with QPR has for him. Unfortunately, results this season haven’t gone the way we all wanted and we feel a change is necessary.
“We understand the importance of appointing a new head coach quickly and an announcement on this will follow in the coming days.”
Speaking after the game – before the decision was announced – Ainsworth had bemoaned his side’s “naivety” after their scorer Andre Dozzell was sent off for retaliation. It came after Jimmy Dunne was dismissed during the midweek defeat at West Brom, also for picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.
“Naivety has cost us again. It’s cost us over the past two games,” the head coach said. “Out of the four bookings that have cost us two red cards, I think there’s only one legitimate foul in there and the rest has been just stupidity …
“We had a plan put in place that I think was working, but again you need 11 men. But I am proud of that performance. I can hold my head up high and say we gave absolutely everything. As long as that keeps happening we’ll amass enough points to stay in this division.”