Jonathan Varane reveals Marti Cifuentes stance in strong QPR message | OneFootball

The R's are currently bottom of the table after just over a quarter of the season.

Jonathan Varane has backed Marti Cifuentes to turn things round at Queens Park Rangers after a poor start to the new season.

The optimism that surrounded the Spanish manager and his team at the end of the last campaign did not lead anyone to think that they would be at the bottom of the league after 15 games of the new one but that's where QPR find themselves - propping up the rest of the table.

With that comes pressure - pressure to bounce back and find a way to start climbing up the table - but one big hope for them is the congested nature of the middle of the Championship. They may be in 24th on 10 points, but they are only nine points off of Swansea City in 11th.

In the 2024 section of the previous term, QPR were one of the six best teams in the division. That can't really be considered to be a new manager bounce either, because Cifuentes was brought in to replace Gareth Ainsworth in October 2023.

He's shown that he is more than capable of being a good manager at this level, but something is just not working for them right now.

Jonathan Varane backs QPR to turn things around

The R's made a lot of interesting additions in the summer. Karamoko Dembele has shown some very promising signs, as have Nicolas Madsen and Koki Saito, at times. Unfortunately, Dembele has been injured for around a month now, plus Madsen and Saito haven't been as consistent as QPR would have liked.

Varane was another one of their summer additions. The 23-year-old Martinique international hasn't hit the ground running since arriving at Loftus Road from Sporting Gijon for a reported fee of £875,000.

His faith in the club's abilities have not been dampened, though. Varane has told So Foot that they aren't "far off" being where they want to be.

"It’s true that it’s alarming, but sincerely, I’m very hopeful," said the midfielder. "We’ve got a good base! We lacked efficiency in both areas, creativity and we have nine or 10 injured players, particularly in attack.

"Against Sunderland, who are top of the league, we could’ve won. The first goal against Leeds was a scramble.

"We’re not far off and our luck is going to change. The coach is good! I’m very, very positive, nothing’s decided yet."

QPR should certainly persist with Marti Cifuentes

There was a report which stated that former Liverpool left-back Gregory Vignal was a potential candidate to take over Cifuentes' post at Loftus Road. Nothing has come of it yet, just over a week on from the initial story, but it would be a big surprise to see the Spaniard given the boot, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, he's proven that he knows how to get this QPR to survival. They were in the pits when he took over the reins from Ainsworth last season, and he brought them up to such a stable position. The only reason that R's supporters were thinking they could kick on and move away from the constant relegation fights they have had over recent seasons is because of him.

Cifuentes and his assistant, Xavi Calm, were also handed new multi-year contracts at the end of September. At that point, they were 17th in the table, but only two points above the relegation places. There's been a bit of a drop-off since then, but not a dramatic one.

The new terms that he and his assistant have been given would certainly suggest that QPR are committed to making it work with him, and rightfully so. He has earned the opportunity to see things out, based on what he did in the previous campaign.