QPR manager Cifuentes placed on gardening leave

Just days before their final Championship game of the season, Queens Park Rangers manager Marti Cifuentes has taken a gardening leave.

As the first-team prepares for Saturday’s away game against Sunderland (12:30 BST), assistant coaches Kevin Betsy and Xavi Calm will take over the starting lineup on an interim basis.

Christian Nourry, the CEO of QPR, stated that “everyone in the industry is disappointed.”

I fully comprehend and appreciate the frustration of current supporters.

We are working as a club to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible so that we can begin making plans for the future.

Following Saturday’s 5-0 defeat to Burnley, which placed QPR 15th in the table, the decision was made.

Before the match, he said it was crucial that he and the club were at odds with one another.

Cifuentes, 42, continued after the game, “I previously said that I’m very happy as long as I’m wanted.”

Gareth Ainsworth replaced him at Swedish club Hammarby in October 2023, leaving the team second in the championship standing.

At the end of last season, he led the club to a position 18 with three victories.