Warnock blames enemies for QPR sacking

Former QPR manager Neil Warnock has accused his enemies of “slowly poisoning” club owner Tony Fernandes against him and bringing about his recent sacking.

Warnock lost his job at Loftus Road on 8 January after a poor run of form which left the Rs just a point off the Barclays Premier League bottom three.

But he believes a major factor in his dismissal was the influence of some of his critics inside and outside the club.

“Even the owner Tony, I know the influence he’ll have had from certain people over the past few weeks,” the veteran manager told BBC Sport.

“It would have been difficult to resist because people get on the phone and tweet and it’s almost like slowly poisoning somebody from outside the club and, no doubt, from within the club as well.

“It’s a dangerous precedent. If you let players talk to the chairman but, you know, you can’t stop tweeting.”

Warnock has also spoken about way QPR handled the sacking. “I received a text saying the owners had been talking long into the night and Phil Beard, the new chief executive, asked if he could come and see me. So I told him to come to our house and I think when I saw him I felt sorry for him and said ‘don’t worry it’s nothing to do with you, this’.

“I think you get used to a certain way of doing things but he [Fernandes] is so far away, all over the world. I’m not a communicator by tweet I’m afraid so I was always going to be the last to know.”

Meanwhile, AC Milan left-back Taye Taiwo is “very close” to signing for QPR. The 26-year-old joined the Rossoneri from Marseille in the summer but has struggled to make an impact.

Taiwo had been linked with a January move to injury-plagued Arsenal but now looks set to join QPR, with completion of the deal subject to a work permit.