Richard Sutcliffe: Marmite man deserves chance of top-flight return

So said Neil Warnock to the Queens Park Rangers players last week on his first day in charge at Loftus Road. The 61-year-old's light-hearted introduction was understandable as he had just become the club's fifth manager of the season and their 12th since September 2007.

Such an approach clearly struck a chord, too, with Warnock's first two games having yielded six points from a team who had lost seven of the nine outings prior to his arrival.

Tomorrow, Warnock hopes to make it a hat-trick of wins when he returns 'home' to Bramall Lane. Few would bet against him doing just that, even though the Blades are unbeaten at home since the start of November.

Warnock, it seems, has that happy knack of inspiring a group of players in the weeks and months immediately following his appointment.

It was certainly the case in his previous job at Selhurst Park where he led Crystal Palace from second- bottom in October 2007 to the play-offs by the end of the season.

Here in Yorkshire, fans of Sheffield United, Hudddersfield Town and Scarborough all enjoyed success under Warnock so it was little wonder that QPR's fans should have so warmly welcomed his arrival.

This season's head-spinning events at Loftus Road had seen Jim Magilton, Paul Hart and Mick Harford pass through the home dugout along with joint caretaker managers Steve Gallen and Marc Bircham, leaving supporters craving stability and someone with a proven track record.

It was an open secret in football circles that Rangers wanted Palace's manager, but it was not originally known whether Warnock was interested in a club who, thanks to the ridiculous hiring-and-firing policy of previous chairman Flavio Briatore, had become a laughing stock. Once it became clear a move across London appealed, a deal was quickly struck over compensation and Warnock was embarking on another chapter in his career.

His mission now is to exorcise the ghost of Sheffield United's controversial relegation from the Premier League by taking QPR back into the top flight.

The events – and, more specifically, the role of Carlos Tevez in keeping West Ham up – that led to the Blades being demoted clearly still rankles. United going down in 2007 with 38 points when Fulham (36) and Hull (35) stayed up in the following two seasons has merely added to the bitterness that still eats into Warnock.

Whether he can make amends by earning a return, only time will tell.

But with a three-and-a-half year contract and the wealthy powers-that-be at Loftus Road now preaching the need for stability, the sexagenarian surely has a chance of realising his ambition of taking a third club into the English game's top flight following his previous promotions with the Blades and Notts County.

And I, for one, hope he does just that as Warnock is one of football's great characters.

There may be plenty in the game who cannot stand QPR's new manager – not for nothing is he known as 'the Marmite man of football', as in people either love or hate him – but I remain an avowed fan.

At the end of what had proved to be a run-of-the-mill interview, he turned to me and said 'you've not got a lot there, Richard, have you? I tell you what, let's have a pop at so-and-so – that'll give you a story and keep your bosses happy'.

I had only been at the Yorkshire Post a few months so appreciated the gesture, especially as he had no need to go out of his way to be so helpful.

Chatting subsequently to journalists who had dealt with Warnock earlier in his career at both Scarborough and Huddersfield, it was clear such an approach was by no means a one-off either.

That and a willingness to answer the telephone and field difficult questions from the press even when under intense pressure – something his younger managerial peers could learn a lot from – is why this column is fervently hoping to see Warnock back creating waves in the Premier League very soon.