QPR boss Hasselbaink expecting tough Hull test

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will bid for his first win as QPR boss at Loftus Road on Friday evening against promotion-chasing Hull and a manager for whom he has the utmost respect.
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkQPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Hasselbaink steered Burton to the top of Sky Bet League One before replacing Chris Ramsey at QPR but is still cutting his managerial teeth, while 2016 heralds the start of Steve Bruce’s 18th year as a manager.

Bruce, whose side can move to within a point of second-placed Derby with victory, has won promotion to the Premier League three times - twice with Birmingham and with his current club - and Hasselbaink holds him in high regard.

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The Dutchman, who has lost one and drawn four of his five matches in charge of QPR, told the club’s official website: “He is doing extremely well as a manager and is someone I respect.

“He is someone I look up to because he is an ex-footballer who played at the highest level and you look how he has done things, he has done really well.

“Steve is somebody I like and players speak very highly of him, which shows he must do something right.

“For me, my career is just starting. You try to make your own way.”

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Hasselbaink expects a tough encounter against lofty opponents but is focused only on his own players.

“It’s a great way to start the new year,” he said. “A big game with a great atmosphere in the stadium.

“It is a team we have to respect because they are a really good side - that is why they are third.

“But we have to think about us, concentrate on us and take the game to them.”