“Completely different mentality” – Manager explains why QPR was something of a shock

Paulo Sousa’s time in charge of Queens Park Rangers was a rocky affair.

His first senior managerial role, having worked with Portugal’s U16 side, Sousa probably didn’t know just what was about to hit him.

The manager had 26 games in charge of QPR, of which he won only ten, and was tenth in the Championship when the dismissal came.

At the time, Sousa made it clear that Dexter Blackstock’s loan to Nottingham Forest hadn’t been his decision. That public sharing of information was the reason QPR gave for firing him, with the leaders of the club seemingly happy to take football decisions but not wanting everyone to know that.

Now manager of Bordeaux, Sousa has been speaking to L’Equipe for an interview in their Friday edition.

The French newspaper put it to him that his period at QPR was probably his ‘toughest passage’ in football management so far, and he replied: “Mainly because I’d started my career. It was in division two. I discovered a completely different mentality from mine. But the experience was rewarding despite everything.”

Asked if it had been a culture shock, he said: “A shock of ideas. But it was a challenge for us.”

Sousa added that he was the “Eleventh coach selected by the owner”, which gives a picture of QPR at the time.