Latest Managerial Name Mentioned for QPR: John Collins of Hibernian

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The Times - Bernie Ecclestone targets John Collins for QPR Phil Gordon
Hibernian could face a huge fight to hang on to John Collins after Queens Park Rangers yesterday stepped up their pursuit of the Edinburgh club’s highly-rated manager. The Coca-Cola Championship side – who are now backed by Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One chief and Flavio Briatore, the owner of Team Renault – are ready to offer Collins a £40 million budget to transform their fortunes.
The west London club are believed to have asked Hibernian for permission to speak to Collins, who was yesterday named as the Clydesdale Bank Manager of the Month for September after taking the Easter Road side into second place in the title race after last weekend’s defeat of Rangers at Ibrox.
“I do not know anything about this,” Collins insisted yesterday on picking up his award. His contract with Hiber-niain runs until June 2009 but the club will have to hope that he chooses to put the quality of life in Edinburgh ahead of the money on offer in London.
The former Scotland player moved his family back to the city from Monaco, where he retired after a successful playing career, when Hibernian appointed him manager last October. Collins guided Hibernian to the CIS Insurance Cup in March 2007, the club’s first silverware in 16 years, and has created a fresh new side with an accent on home-grown talent after raking in around £9 million from the sales of Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Steven Whittaker and Ivan Sproule in recent months.
He has had to recruit new signings for a fraction of the money brought in, as Hibernian put the transfer proceeds into a new training ground. The 40-year-old enjoys living in Edinburgh and his role with Hibernian, the club he first played for before moving on to Celtic, AS Monaco, Everton and Fulham. Hibernian are definitely a work-in-progress but he would be able to command a salary of around £1 million if he took over QPR, as well as the huge budget that is being put in place to try to take the west London side back into the top flight.
QPR have already spoken to Gianluca Vialli, the former Chelsea and Watford manager, about taking over after the sacking of John Gregory on October 1, with Mick Harford having been put in temporary charge.
“I don’t know whether Vialli is good or bad,” Ecclestone said at the time. “Flavio knows him. He has been talking to him. From a coach you need someone who motivates all the players. The guy sitting there can’t tell them what to do. They know to kick the ball in the goal. You don’t have to tell them that. You want then to feel that they can win when they go out on the pitch.”
For the Hibernian board, the real fear is that the club could lose a second ambitious young manager in a year to the Championship. Tony Mowbray was poached by West Bromwich Albion last October and took his side to the Premier League play-offs.
Collins preferred to distance himself from the speculation yesterday and to concentrate on his Manager of the Month award as well as to shift the praise to Tommy Craig, his assistant, and the players.
“So far, the players have been fantastic – every one of them,” Collins said. “They have really done great for us but they have to keep going and our job is to push them to the next level every day in training.
“It’s always nice to pick up awards but this is for everyone at the club for all the hard work they have put in. Tommy Craig puts in a lot of work and certainly deserves this every bit as much as I do. It’s recognition for the whole coaching staff, the medical team and, of course, the players. The players deserve credit for the way that they have remained focused.
“They have all worked really hard and taken on board everything that has been said to them by us. It’s been a good month but we are always looking to improve and we will continue to try and do that.” The Times