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Redknapp expects imminent QPR appointment

Harry Redknapp said he was "close" to taking the Ukraine job © Getty Images

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QPR are set to hire Harry Redknapp as their new manager, with the former Tottenham boss expecting the deal to be confirmed late on Friday.

Redknapp, who has been out of work since being sacked by Tottenham in June, will replace Mark Hughes after the Welshman was axed on Friday morning.

Hughes failed to turn the club's fortunes around following an appalling start to the season, with QPR's 12-match winless run leaving them firmly rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.

But Redknapp believes he can stop the rot at Loftus Road having previously saved Portsmouth and West Ham from relegation.

"We're hoping to get it done tonight," Redknapp told Sky Sports News. "There shouldn't be any problems.

"I fancy getting back into the Premier League, QPR's a great club with great fans. I'm looking forward to it, it's a big challenge, tough to take on but I'm up for it.

"Hopefully they'll get it all sorted out tonight. There's a couple of little bits left but I've left it to other people. I want it to happen because it's a club I'd like to manage."

Redknapp will watch his new charges take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, with Tuesday's game away to Sunderland likely to be his first at the QPR helm.

"I'll get up tomorrow and watch them at Old Trafford because I haven't actually been to one of their games this season," Redknapp said. "I'm sure everything will get sorted tonight, so then it will be all systems go [for the game after].

"Mark Hughes is a top manager but he just couldn't get it going. I'm here to see if I can change their fortunes around. It won't be easy but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

"There's some good players, but we've got to pick a team to win games. I'm under no illusions that it will be an easy job. I'll give it my best and if it works, fantastic."

Redknapp is expecting to bring in some of the backroom staff who supported him at Tottenham, including Joe Jordan and Kevin Bond, with the ex-Spurs manager saying: "Hopefully if we can get stuff sorted out, yeah. They want to get back to work, but we'll have to wait and see. If it can be done, I think you need people around you."

Despite being renowned for his transfer dealings, Redknapp insists he will not make wholesale changes in January.

"There's not going to be too much going on in January, you can't keep bringing players in. They brought something like 12 players in during the summer. If there's a few loans there, we'll do it."

Redknapp had been strongly linked with the Ukraine national team job and he admitted he was close to accepting his first international position.

"[I was] very close, it was a job that really excited me. We met the people, they were fantastic. It's a job I've never done before, and I was really up for it. But when we heard about Mark, it really changed things around. Ukraine was an interesting job for sure."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.