Les Ferdinand on His Hopes for QPR

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FERDINAND ISSUES QPR CHALLENGE - Sporting Life/PA Sport - By Tom Collomosse, PA Sport

Former QPR striker Les Ferdinand has challenged any potential new owners to prove their commitment to the club if they take control at Loftus Road.
Reports have linked Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and Renault team chief Flavio Briatore with takeover a bid for the Coca-Cola Championship club, who are in a troubled financial position.
But Ferdinand, who would like to see current chairman Gianni Paladini and his directors removed, wants any prospective new owners to prove they have the club's future at heart.
"Anyone who takes over has to show they want to take the club forward," Ferdinand said.
"It has to be someone who wants to go in there and do things the right way, which would mean investing money to take QPR back to the Premier League.
"You don't want someone buying the club just because it is in the west London area, and they see it as an investment.
"That is my main concern. These people might have a lot of money, but how would they invest it?" Ferdinand, who played for QPR from 1987 until 1995, has been dismayed to see the club's fortunes slide since they were relegated from the top flight at the end of the 1995/96 campaign.
Rangers only just avoided relegation from the Championship last season, and are restricted greatly by the £10million loan they took from the Panama-based ABC Corporation to help them out of administration five years ago.
One report suggested that current chairman Gianni Paladini would be allowed to continue to run the club were Ecclestone and Briatore to assume control.
But Ferdinand, 40, is keen to see more significant changes at boardroom level - although he is happy for manager John Gregory to remain in charge.
"I would like to see a restructuring at all levels, apart from the management team," continued Ferdinand, who was capped 17 times by England. "The manager (Gregory) has a decent track record.
"I want to see QPR taken forward, and that might mean a restructuring of the board.
"A lot of unsavoury things have happened at QPR, and there needs to be a lot of work done behind the scenes to get the club back to where it was."
Paladini - who became chairman in the autumn of 2005 after a boardroom coup to oust former incumbent Bill Power - has been willing to sell the club for some time, but has yet to reach an agreement to do so.
When asked whether the deal had been completed, Paladini told the Daily Mail: "I wish it was true."
The QPR Supporters Trust, meanwhile, believe it would be "good news" were Ecclestone and Briatore to step in.
Co-ordinator Tracy Stent said: "If someone came in with a large amount of money, they would be saving the club.
"The club needs to find someone to re-finance the structure of the ABC loan. It is imperative that something is done about this." Sporting Life