What Tom Cleverley has already said about QPR as ex Watford coach linked with Loftus Road

Tom Cleverley has become a favourite to take over from Marti Cifuentes at QPR this summer following his dismissal from Championship rivals Watford this week.

The 35-year-old helped the Hornets to a 14th place finish this season, just one place and one point above QPR, but struggled for form towards the end of the campaign. A statement from the club on Tuesday read: “Watford FC confirms the departure of Tom Cleverley as Head Coach.

“Cleverley stabilised performances at the end of the 2023/24 season in an interim position before his full-time appointment last summer. At one stage, the Golden Boys were part of the play-off picture but, unfortunately, performances and results drifted with just five wins in 2025.”

Tom Cleverley emerges as potential next QPR manager

Watford have now joined Norwich City, West Brom and Cardiff City in the search for a new manager. QPR are not officially without a head coach but did place Marti Cifuentes on ‘gardening leave’ at the end of April and it looks increasingly unlikely that the Catalan will return to Loftus Road.

Former Lyon boss Pierre Sage, ex Wolves man Gary O’Neil and Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason have all been linked with the job at QPR but Cleverley has shot into contention following his dismissal. The former midfielder has always spoken very positively about QPR this season.

Ahead of facing the R’s at Vicarage Road in November, Watford went into that game off the back of a 14-game unbeaten home run with QPR sitting 23rd in the table. Speaking ahead of the match, Cleverley said: “I expect a tough challenge. They had a fantastic away result and it’s a game that, like all the others, will pose a threat and a set of challenges that we’ll absolutely have to be on our A-game to get the right result.

“They like to play a certain way and that’s playing short passes and progressing up the pitch through possession and taking some risks. The manager came in last season and did a fantastic job to take them from where they were to comfortably staying in the league. They’ve not quite kicked on this season but they showed they can be a dangerous team.”

Ex Watford boss praises QPR efforts over 2024/25 campaign

That fixture ended 0-0 and Cleverley doubled down on his praise for QPR and Cifuentes. After the match, he told the Watford Observer: “We said pre-match that every Championship game offers a new set of challenges and it was no different today. They like to play football the proper way and if they get into a rhythm they are quite hard to break down.

“They are a well-coached team and we struggled to deal with that in the first half. Then in the second half we imposed ourselves and managed to play our way, and came on stronger.”

Cleverley had the same respect in January when facing QPR, in a match with Cifuentes’ side won 3-1 in front of home support. Speaking after that game, the Watford boss praised hoe QPR ‘played the dark arts’ and hoped that his side could learn to ‘be as nasty as the opposition and want to win’. He added: “They were much more clinical or had more desire in both boxes.”

In other news, QPR and West Brom boost in pursuit of Tottenham coach Ryan Mason.