At the end of January, QPR were fourth in the Championship – only two points and a game in hand away from the automatic promotion places.
Fans were hailing it as the best season since an Adel Taarabt-led team took the Championship by storm in 2010/11. But three months later, manager Mark Warburton looks set to leave the club. Speaking on Thursday, per West London Sport, he said: “I think if [staying] was the case, communication about contract talks would already have been held.
“But my job, rest assured, is that while you are in post you do the job to the best of your ability and that will always be the case.” QPR fans have a lot to thank Warburton for. Despite the poor end to this season, during his tenure QPR have gone from a team constantly looking over their shoulder in fear of relegation to a solid top-half side.
After the sale of Eberechi Eze ripped out the team’s attacking core, Mark Warburton bedded in a series of players brought in for pocket change and created a better-balanced side with a handful of standout performers.
But a few familiar old problems have come back to haunt him. QPR have improved defensively under Warburton, especially with a move to a back three that got the best out of Yoann Barbet, but the team’s inability to defend set pieces has now returned in force.
Complaints about sideways and backwards passing didn’t seem to matter when at any given moment Chris Willock or Ilias Chair could unlock the defence with a bit of magic – but dips in form and injuries around the team have rendered QPR unable to get in behind teams that play a lower block.
Warburton has been vocal about the targets he sets himself - mainly, to steadily improve on the final league position season-by-season - and this could be his downfall. If the form at the end of last campaign wasn’t the third-best in the league, missing out on play-offs this season would never have felt as disappointing.
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The picture at QPR under Warburton has been of continuity, not change – and letting him go is a fairly hefty roll of the dice. The question has to be asked: is there a manager, available on wages QPR can afford, willing to move to a Championship side, who is a better option than Mark Warburton?
It’s difficult to find a convincing answer when Warburton has worked miracles in ways he’ll maybe never be given enough credit for.
On a bottom-half budget, he’s delivered some incredible memories for fans, such as a 6-1 drubbing of Cardiff City and some amazing goals including Eze at Stoke, Andre Gray at Derby and a baffling series of screamers from centre-back Rob Dickie.
He’s put up with a season where QPR have had to play five separate goalkeepers, turned Premier League cast-offs into reliable Championship players and battled through some bad runs of form to get the team winning again.
He's lacked a truly prolific striker since Nahki Wells’ departure but has kept his faith in Lyndon Dykes and managed to get a tune out of Jordan Hugill, Andre Gray, and Charlie Austin where other Championship managers have failed to.
Perhaps most importantly, he’s gone about business with a respect for the fans, for his players and for the club. His departure could be a chance to build on all the good he’s done for the club – but at this rate, he might not even get a proper send-off.
QPR fans will head to the match against Sheffield United on Friday not knowing if they’re seeing Warburton’s final home game. The manager who had the fans dreaming of the Premier League all season deserves to be properly thanked by a home crowd before he goes.
Warburton said: “You never talk ill of the club, individuals at the club and put your head down with you staff and get the job done. But the owners write the cheques, it’s their money that goes into a football club and whether you agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter, it’s their choice, and it’s their prerogative.
“They live and die by decisions and when you are fortunate enough to be in situ, you just try and do the best you can.”
