Matt Rose on His Time at QPR, Injuries & Under John Gregory (Ben Kosky/Kilburn Times)

-
Ben Kosky - Kilburn Times - Rose was expecting the boot
LONG-SERVING defender Matthew Rose realised his days at QPR were numbered within a few weeks of John Gregory's arrival at Loftus Road.
Rose, 31, was frozen out almost as soon as Gregory took over from Gary Waddock in September, and this week finalised a deal to end almost a decade's service to the club.
The former England under-21 international, who signed for Rangers in a £500,000 switch from Arsenal in 1997, insists he wanted to spend the rest of his career at Loftus Road.
But, despite a shocking seven-match spell which saw the Rs concede 16 goals in October and November, Gregory refused to consider selecting the experienced Rose, claiming at one stage that the player was injured.
"It was clear I wasn't in John Gregory's plans," Rose told the Times. "I was happy and settled at QPR, but things happened that were out of my control.

"I travelled to Cardiff with the squad in November and, when I couldn't even get on the bench, I realised which way it was going. That's how it is in football and hopefully, as one door closes, another one opens.
"It's like any job - if you get up in the morning and you're not enjoying going to work, it takes its toll on yourself and your family and you realise there's a lot more to life than football.
"I had a little niggle which I got put right in December and, if I was in the manager's plans, I'd have had it done sooner, but then it was a case of making sure I was fully fit for when I got things sorted with QPR."
Injury problems blighted Rose's career at Loftus Road, perhaps illustrated best by the fact that he made just 261 appearances for the club in those 10 seasons.
Brought to Rangers by his former Arsenal coach Stewart Houston, Rose began at right-back, but went on to feature as a central defender, sweeper, midfielder and left-back under a succession of managers.
It took Rose until February 2000 to register his first QPR goal, in a 1-1 draw at Barnsley, but he went on to score seven more - the best of which came against Brighton and West Ham during the Rs' run of seven straight wins under Ian Holloway in 2004.
It was Holloway who oversaw the highlight of Rose's QPR career during that year - promotion back to the Championship was particularly sweet for the defender, a member of the side relegated three years earlier.
Rose added: "Winning promotion was certainly the highlight. We'd been through a lot of lows, but we had a great day at Hillsborough and to be part of that was wonderful.
"Certain things have happened since then that could be taking the club backwards. I hope not because, after 10 years, QPR will always be a big part of my life.
"There have been a lot of jokes made about my injury problems, but I've always given my best for the QPR supporters and I think they appreciate that.
"The fan base is unbelievable - even now, they're still turning up in their thousands - and I hope for their sake that the club doesn't go down. They don't deserve that."
Rose became the second senior player to leave Loftus Road this month after club captain Kevin Gallen, who rejoined former boss Ian Holloway at Plymouth, initially on loan for the remainder of the season.
But QPR have yet to confirm whether they will award Rose a testimonial - the usual reward for 10 years' service - which had been verbally agreed with former chief executive Mark Devlin.
As someone who gave the best years of his career to Rangers, Rose surely deserves that. Kilburn Times