Peter Coates On Mark Hughes Agreeing New Contract

It does indeed. And I've long held the view that the critical appointment at any football club is the football manager. If you can get that right, you've always got a chance. We think Mark's done really well. We're very pleased with what he's achieved during his spell, and we're obviously pleased that he wants to continue and extend his contract, so that's good news all around.

Well, we having made that decision that we were going to have a change, obviously it's one thing to change your manager, but we'd had a very good manager. We'd had seven good years, and it's having that confidence that you could replace him with another good manager, and it's easier said than done as we all know in football. We see managers come and go, and they're made in good faith and they don't work out, and it's always messy and costly and disappointing for everybody. So it's such a big decision to make. I discussed it with John as I do most football matters of this sort and of anything that's of great importance, and we were knocking it about as we do, and Mark was one of the names, and we fairly quickly thought he was the best candidate. Talked to Tony, he got involved, Tony Pulis that is, and between us, he was very much our target man. So then you go about seeing if he wants to come and all the rest of it. So yes, that's how it came about, that's how it began, and we all were in agreement that he would be a very good choice for us. We were obviously taking a close look when you're involved in a football club and you're chairman, you watch managers all the time and you watch how they do, you take positions on them, you have views of them, and you watch appointments and you think, would I have done that or what do I think of that to yourself and probably John and I, that comes up, John and I and Tony would often talk about what you think of that because you're involved in the game and you're interested in these things all the time, and so you do become a manager watcher and you always have your eye on people who you think are good and they're doing well and it's somebody suitable for your club as well. I mean, you have to get that right. So yeah, that's how it started, and we think we did well, and I think our supporters have all been very pleased with what they've seen.

I've got an easy answer to that. It was the referee who lost that game, I'm afraid. He made one very poor decision which put them back in the game. I suspect we lost a bit of concentration with what happened and we defended badly the second goal, but you don't get much more straightforward than the handball in the penalty area. But there we are, it's been gone, I'm afraid.

He was, I think people were surprised that we went for Mark, and for the reasons that you have given. He appeared to take all the blame for what was wrong with QPR, and clearly the club was having a difficult period at that time with the various managers who had been there, all of whom had got plenty of experience and, in my view, got good track records. So you think of Harry Redknapp, you think of Neil Warnock, they've been around the block, they know their stuff, and they were all having a bit of a struggle as did Mark. But if you analyze the rest of his managerial career, you'd be impressed, or we were impressed, and we thought it had a lot to recommend it. So yeah, we were convinced he was a very talented and effective manager.

Yeah, we've done very well. We finished our highest position, highest position to finish in the top 10, which gave us a lot of pleasure and satisfaction. And yes, because of change, you sometimes think it'll put you back initially, because people have got to get used to new things and different ways of doing things and a different approach. So yes, we were delighted obviously to finish 10th, and great testimony to him and his coaches, Mark and Eddie. So they've done a great job for us.

Well, I'm always cautious about these things, but as ever, we do want to get better. Mark has aspirations to get higher up that table, and we would want to support him in that. It's great to have him feeling that he can achieve that progression. So yeah, we like to hear him say it, and it's not leading with your chin because you soon get told you said this and you didn't achieve it. But he's confident about what he can and can't do, and I think he was quite surprised with our squad when he inherited it, and he said that publicly, which was a nice thing to say. So he didn't hide; he said he'd been surprised at how good a squad he got, and he's done really well with them. They've bought into his new way, different, and it's all gone very well. But I'm always cautious in football because it's a thing where things easily go wrong, a couple of bad results, a bit of pressure. But no, we're really pleased with the progress we've made, and we're delighted with Mark's attitude towards it.

He started young, you know, he started well, and he destroys my theory. I always have a theory that managers of countries should do it after they've had their club experience and probably in the latter part of their careers, like Hodgson for example. I've always thought that was probably the way to go; you've got all the experience, day-to-day management of club football is quite demanding, and so as you get older, you think that's a good fit because you've been around the block, you've done it. But Mark proved that theory wrong because he was probably, I think, Wales' most successful manager in recent years.