Mark Hughes acknowledges Queens Park Rangers failure

By Charlie Bennett, Reporter | 13 March 2015

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes admits that the criticism he received after his spell in charge of Queens Park Rangers was "hard to take".

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has admitted that his stint as Queens Park Rangers manager damaged his reputation.

The Welshman spent nine months in charge of the West London side in 2012, before he was sacked with them bottom of the Premier League.

QPR went on to get relegated that season under Harry Redknapp, and Hughes was widely criticised for his role in the club's plight.

He told The Telegraph: "QPR was a difficult situation for me and a lot of people at the time. We tried to make it work and it didn't happen. I took my fair share of blame for it and I held my hands up. There were wrong decisions and the wrong players came in and we weren't able to change things round quickly enough.

"It seemed I got the brunt of the blame and everybody was having a pop so it was hard to take. It damaged my reputation, absolutely, but I used that criticism to motivate me. Maybe I had something to prove because you don't like negative periods in your career, as a player or a manager."

Hughes has been in charge of Stoke since June 2013.