Despite Queens Park Rangers poor form in recent matches seeing us lose four matches on the spin, manager Steve McClaren gave a recent interview where he changed tact slightly and reminded fans that it was about the future of the club, and not just the now.
With QPR sending out a number of potentially hot prospects and youngsters identified as one’s for the future during the January transfer window alone, McClaren was quoted by football.london from our Trust’s 10th anniversary celebrations that having watched them carefully and included them in first team training and some games, getting them out for real competitive action was the next logical step as he looks to make decisions about the type of squad he will carry in the 2019/20 campaign.
“We had a good window. It was quiet in terms of ins but we brought experienced players in on loan in the summer and I think that boosted us and gave us a really strong squad and strong team. We have a good academy here and have good young players. They’ve been training with the first team for four or five months, got that experience under their belt, and now they’re experiencing league football all over the country, which I thought was the next development for them. We’ve got six or seven young players out – monitoring them – and hoping that when they come back in the summer they’ll be ready for the first team.”
With McClaren walking back his words following the involvement of younger lads in the defeat and implying their time was up with the club, this will naturally come as a boost to them as they look to their own futures, and he added.
“What we’re trying to create here at QPR is kind of like a conveyor belt to develop the young players. Some are already in the first team, but the academy, Chris Ramsey and Les Ferdinand do a great job of recruiting young players. I think so, most definitely(in terms of potential future regulars). They’re good players, they just need experience. The next four or five months are very important for these players because in the summer they’re expected to go into the first team.”
With the likes of Charlie Owens, Sean Goss, Ilias Chair, Aramide Oteh and Paul Smith let out for the opportunity of greater game time, logic dictates that not all of them will make it with us but a decent rule of thumb on youth development seems to be if you get one from five, you’re doing well.
Fans will always hope for greater and if we can achieve greater than that ratio we have the freedom to benefit on the pitch in future years, as well as naturally benefitting financially as we look to sort ourselves out on that front.
