WHEN Neil Warnock was removed as QPR boss on Sunday, some might have regarded it as a gamble. That was until they appointed Mark Hughes.

Warnock’s supporters were both numerous and vociferous when he was shown the door at Loftus Road.

We await the moment when Warnock’s great friend, El-Hadji Diouf, breaks his silence on the matter and offers his diplomatic verdict on the week’s events.

Until that day, we have had to content ourselves with other opinions on the QPR manager’s shock departure.

Iain Dowie described it as ‘very harsh’, while Ray Wilkins was thought to have exclaimed: “My word!”

Warnock’s exit did undoubtedly seem harsh. QPR were not in the relegation zone, even if they had slid to within a point of the bottom three.

But owner Tony Fernandes had clearly decided that his club had become one of the contenders for the drop.

Sacking a manager who had guided QPR to promotion might have been a risk.

Many thought the same when Newcastle surprisingly replaced Chris Hughton for Alan Pardew last season.

But that paid off and it would be little surprise if this change one does too.

The key is always the choosing the right man to step in, and Hughes seems about as surefire a success as they come.

With or without money, Hughes has shown time and again an ability to get the best out of players.

His results as manager of Blackburn Rovers were remarkable.

It is why his name had understandably cropped up so many times when Rovers fans called for the removal of manager Steve Kean.

With substantial funds, as QPR look set to hand him during this January transfer window, it is hard to see him failing.

Relegation for QPR this season would now come as perhaps an even greater surprise than the news of Warnock’s axing.

Sadly for the other teams at the bottom, the relegation battle may now involve one less club.

* Spare a thought once more this week for Xavi, everyone’s favourite third best footballer in the world, who missed out on the Ballon D’Or to Lionel Messi yet again.

Over the past few years the midfielder has guided Barcelona and Spain to three Champions League titles, the European Championships and the World Cup. He is unlucky to play in an era that also contains Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.