QPR have confirmed Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s appointment as the club’s new manager after he agreed a rolling contract.
The Dutchman joins from Burton Albion having guided the club to promotion last season and with the Brewers sitting proudly at the top of the League One table.
Hasselbaink's assistant at the Pirelli Stadium, David Oldfield, will join him at Loftus Road and the former Chelsea striker felt he couldn't turn down a move to Loftus Road down.
He said: “It was not an easy decision to leave Burton, but when you get the opportunity to come somewhere like QPR, with the club where it is and the squad we have at our disposal, it was something I couldn’t turn down.
“I feel that this is a club on the up – it has an exciting feeling about it. And I want to keep that feeling going by taking more positive strides forward.
“I am happy to get the opportunity here at QPR, to lead the QPR family, be at the front of it all, put my stamp on things and take the club forward.
“This is an incredibly proud moment for me and I will give my all to represent the badge of the club.”
Burton announced on Wednesday morning that the former Chelsea striker had been granted permission to speak to the R’s and productive talks took place within a matter of hours.
He returned to Staffordshire yesterday to say his farewells to the Burton players and watched on television as QPR defeated Reading 1-0 at the Madejski Stadium last night.
After an illustrious playing career, the 43-year-old began life as a manager in Belgium after taking charge of Royal Antwerp in May 2013 and led the club to a seventh-place finish.
Burton came calling In November 2014 when they were left looking for a new boss to replace Birmingham-bound Gary Rowett.
A hugely-successful stint in charge of the Brewers followed and earned him the admiration of QPR chairman Tony Fernandes and director of football Les Ferdinand.
“We went through a very meticulous recruitment process that generated a lot of excellent candidates. We gave ourselves a real selection headache with the high level of candidates we spoke to, but Jimmy was the best of the best, without any doubt,” Ferdinand said.
“We have been hugely impressed by his work at Burton. Having won League Two, he leaves them at the top of League One, which is an incredible achievement.
“He has that fire in the belly that you look for in all Managers, but not only that, he is also a strong, authoritative leader who commands the respect of all those he works with.
“He leaves no stone unturned in his work on the training ground and prepares his teams meticulously. He is a young manager who has a great knowledge of the game.
“We’re delighted he has agreed to join us and we’re all looking forward to an exciting new chapter at Loftus Road.”
Hasselbaink’s first six Championship fixture as Hoops manager are Burney (H), Brighton (H), Bristol City (A), Huddersfield (H) and Hull (H).
Read more: Why Ian Holloway fears Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is the right man at the wrong time for QPR.
