Q&A With Zesh Rehman About QPR, His Future and Pakistan

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PFA's Give Me Football/Dave Smith June 24, 2008 - Q& A With Zesh Rehman

Zesh Rehman is looking forward to playing a big part in the Rangers' revolution and believes exciting times lie ahead for the West London club.
Wealthy Italian owners and a new manager with a top reputation means QPR have already been installed as favourites for promotion next season...and Zesh can't wait for the new campaign to start.

Rehman, the first Asian to play at the top level in this country, made over 20 first team appearances for Rangers last season, and he says: "I played in the final game of last season, and intend to start the first game of next in a QPR shirt. I want to carry on where I left off.

"I have not met new manager Iain Dowie as yet, but I am still contracted to QPR for another year and am totally committed to the club. The appointment of Iain is an excellent one because he has experience of managing at this level, and in the Premiership too.

"Everyone knows about the people backing the club and it promises to be an exciting period in the history of Rangers. But obviously, because of the money, the level of expectancy has soared and that brings extra pressure. We have to rise to that challenge.

"We had three different managers last season so I was pleased to have played over 20 games, and I'm looking forward to impressing the new man when we report back for pre-season next month.

"There will no doubt be new faces, but we already have a good pack of players here and we are a match for anyone in this league. We just need to find a bit more consistency and we'll be up there."

It's been a frustrating summer for Zesh who was looking forward to representing Pakistan in the South Asian Football Federation Cup, but had to withdraw after going down with food poisoning.

"It was really disappointing to have to come home without kicking a ball but there was no way I was going to be fully fit after the illness," says Zesh. "The doctors advised me to pull out and I suppose it was the right decision.
"Unfortunately, Pakistan lost all three games - and conceded quite a few goals in the process - so that just added to the disappointment. I'd like to think that, had I been fully fit, I could have made a bit of a difference. Hopefully, next time.
* Hear more from Zesh here on givemefootball over the coming months.
PFA