Harry Redknapp is unsure whether he will pick Jose Bosingwa again after the QPR boss admitted he was “disturbed” by the right-back’s refusal to sit on the bench against Fulham.
Bosingwa, a Champions League winner with Chelsea last season, was fined two weeks wages STG130,000 ($A205,000)) recently after storming out of Loftus Road after being told he would not be in Redknapp’s starting XI.
The R’s manager has launched a scathing tirade against the player, and other underperforming members of his squad, after the news of Bosingwa’s actions emerged at the weekend, calling them “average” and overpaid.
“He (Bosingwa) said: ‘I don’t want to sit on the bench.’ He thinks he is too good to sit on the bench. That is what disturbs me in this game,” Redknapp said.
Despite an injury to reserve right-back Nedum Onuoha, Redknapp left Bosingwa out of his squad for Saturday’s defeat to Newcastle.
When asked whether Bosingwa would play for him again, Redknapp replied: “I will have to look at it in the future. Let’s see how we go.”
Redknapp’s criticism of Bosingwa has gone down well with most R’s fans, who have grown tired of the poor performances of some of the highly-paid players brought in with the aim of helping propel the club to a top-half finish this term.
Redknapp, a manager of over 20 years’ experience, will no doubt hope the rant will provoke Bosingwa and some of the other underperformers into a reaction, starting with Boxing Day’s home clash against West Brom.
The Rangers boss defended his decision to hit out publicly at a section of his squad and insisted he was relatively happy with the performances of most of his players since taking charge last month.
“I wasn’t talking about all the players,” said Redknapp, who inherited a team bottom of the table despite a glut of summer signings under his predecessor Mark Hughes.
“I have no problem with players earning good money if they give good value for their money and I just feel that one or two haven’t.
“You don’t have to be a mind-reader to see that we haven’t had good value for money. It’s pretty obvious.
“Mark is a top manager. But one or two of the players haven’t pulled their weight. That’s why Mark lost his job.”
The next five weeks will be decisive in Redknapp’s quest to keep QPR in the English Premier League.
The west London club face a tough run of fixtures and the R’s boss must work sensibly in the transfer market.
Despite an upturn in form since he took charge, Redknapp’s team are still five points adrift of safety as the season approaches the halfway point.
The 65-year-old believes he can keep the team up, but he underlined just how big a task lies ahead for him if he is to stop QPR slipping into the npower Championship.
“We really have to show top-six form,” Redknapp said.
“It’s going to be tough but it can happen.”