Another Championship competitor of Leeds United has fired its manager.
Queens Park Rangers, Leeds United’s Championship opponents, fired manager Gareth Ainsworth after losing 2-1 at home to league leaders Leicester City.
The 50-year-old, who joined the London team from Wycombe Wanderers in February, has only won five of his 28 games in command at Loftus Road. Although he managed just two victories in 14 games this season, he helped them escape relegation the previous season. Richard Dobson, Ainsworth’s assistant, has also quit the team.
At the start of October, the team’s six-game losing streak began with a 1-0 loss at Leeds. “Making a call such as this is never easy, and it is even more difficult when you have such respect for the individuals concerned on both a personal and professional level – which we all do for Gareth and Richard,” said QPR CEO Lee Hoos.
“Many fans have recently expressed to me their desire for Gareth to succeed beyond anyone else, which speaks volumes about the affection everyone at QPR has for him. Regretfully, the outcomes for this season have fallen short of our expectations, and we believe a modification is required.
“Gareth has been a pleasure to work with from the moment he arrived and I am truly sorry this has not worked out as we all had hoped. On behalf of the board, I wholeheartedly thank Gareth for his commitment, desire, passion and professionalism. We all have the utmost respect for him, and he will always be welcome here.
“We understand the importance of appointing a new head coach quickly and an announcement on this will follow in the coming days.”
With 13 of their first 14 Championship games won, Leicester’s victory over QPR allowed them to continue their winning ways this season. Leeds, who defeated Huddersfield Town, a rival team in West Yorkshire, on Saturday afternoon to maintain their third-place standings, behind them by 14 points.
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