Queens Park Rangers vs Manchester United preview - Warnock relishing United "magic" - 7M sport

Queens Park Rangers vs Manchester United preview - Warnock relishing United "magic"



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Posted Sunday, December 18, 2011 by PA

QPR manager Neil Warnock admits he could only dream of facing Manchester United when he took the helm at Loftus Road less than two years ago.

The 63-year-old became the west Londoners' fifth manager of the 2009/10 season when he moved from Crystal Palace in March last year.

Warnock has been a stabilising force at QPR after 12 different managers in a four-year spell, leading them to the npower Championship crown in his first full season in charge.

The Rs have impressed since promotion to the Barclays Premier League and welcome Manchester United to W12 on Sunday, which excites Warnock immensely.

"We have dreamt of it since I came to the club," he said. "It has only been a dream up until now.

"The younger fans have not seen anything like it and I always imagine how I used to feel walking to the ground.

"They will be thinking of Rooney, Giggs and Ferdinand.

"It is a fabulous feeling walking to the ground [thinking of those type of players] with your dad and granddad with you.

"That is what we wanted. We wanted QPR fans to see the top players.

"I just think playing Man United have that little bit of magic.

"I know we've played Man City and we've played Chelsea, but I think Manchester United just has that something else.

"The glitz factor really and it whets the appetite."

QPR will be without key centre-back Anton Ferdinand for tomorrow's match due to a hamstring injury picked up at Liverpool last weekend.

The Hoops, though, are boosted by the return of Fitz Hall, Matthew Connolly and DJ Campbell, with Warnock promising to go for victory.

"We'll have a go," he said. "There is no way we are trying to get a point with our fans when we have waited 16 years or whatever it is.

"I want them going home knowing we've given everything whatever the result, but it would be nice to get something.

"I saw highlights of Basel [in the Champions League] and they did attack them, which was surprising because you don't see that against Manchester United, especially at Old Trafford.

"But I think teams are changing and having a go, I think that's from Blackpool.

"If you go defensive you're going to get beaten anyway."

Manchester United intend to shake Manchester City out of their Premier League comfort zone by snatching top spot with victory at Loftus Road.

City have been settled in top spot ever since their neighbours dropped their second lot of points of the season, at Liverpool in mid-October.

A week later came that trouncing at Old Trafford that Blues supporters will never forget, since when it has appeared Roberto Mancini's men would run away with the biggest prize.

Yet United have kept plugging away and City's defeat at Chelsea on Monday meant they had closed the gap to two points.

It means Sir Alex Ferguson's men, who kick off at Loftus Road four hours earlier than City's confrontation with Arsenal, can exert maximum pressure by beating Neil Warnock's side.

"It would be a good psychological boost to get back to top spot," said defender Chris Smalling.

"City have maybe got a little comfy in terms of being on top.

"We can put a lot of pressure on them because they play a couple of hours later.

"And if we can get that top spot back we will be hard to knock off because we're only going to get stronger as the season goes on."

In any normal season, now would be the time for United to hit the accelerator.

With matches piling up, Ferguson's side have tended to get themselves into a groove that has allowed them to gather points at rapid speed.

Yet this campaign has been anything but usual.

The memory of those eight goals against Arsenal has been swamped by the stunning setbacks of conceding six to Manchester City and then failing to beat any of their Champions League group opponents, other than hapless Romanians Otelul Galati, culminating in that jaw-dropping defeat in Basle when only a draw was required.

"It helps that we play every two or three days even though we have had a couple of disappointments in that situation this season," said Smalling.

"But we've just got to keep going. When we get wins in the league, like we did against Wolves in our last match, we have to kick on again.

"If we keep getting those wins, the table quickly looks a lot rosier."

United supporters would have more confidence in their team had it not been for a huge injury list, which now has Darren Fletcher amongst the long-term absentees, in addition to skipper Nemanja Vidic.



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