EFL head coach issues reaction to QPR managerial vacancy links

Milton Keynes Dons head coach Liam Manning has played down reports linking him with the managerial hot-seat at Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers.

The Hoops are set to be without a manager following their final match of the 2021-22 season on Saturday afternoon, with Mark Warburton departing his role after three years in charge.

And following his sterling work in charge of the Dons in League One, Manning was one of the first names to be touted as a potential replacement for the 59-year-old.

TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook reported that there is ‘definite interest’ from the west Londoners in Manning, who is currently having his first taste as a head coach in England, with much of his career being spent as a youth coach with Ipswich Town, West Ham United and New York City.

Manning was handed his first managerial role with Belgian outfit Lommel in July 2020 before switching to the Dons last August when Russell Martin departed for Swansea City, and in his first season at Stadium MK he guided the club to a third-placed finish in the third tier of English football.

With a play-off double header against Wycombe Wanderers to come though, Manning is focused on that only and has insisted that there has been no contact with QPR.

“It’s a straight bat on that one – I’ve got a job to do here,” Manning said on the speculation, per the MK Citizen.

“All my focus is on this hectic week we’ve got. All my energy is on this club and making sure the players are prepared.

“It’s part of the game: all the speculation and noise. It will never stop but my players know my attention is on them.

“I see it as a compliment – whether there’s any truth in it I don’t know, I’ve not heard anything.”

The Verdict

With Warburton not yet out of the door at the