HARRY REDKNAPP has quit as QPR manager, claiming his knee replacement surgery would dent the club's Premier League survival fight.
Rangers chairman Tony Fernandes accepted the former Tottenham boss' resignation just a day after tweeting there would be "no more cheque book" as the transfer window closed on Monday.
Redknapp had been under intense pressure for months with QPR languishing in a relegation dogfight, fending off what he claimed was a club insider trying to undermine his position.
Redknapp continuously claimed to have the backing of chairman Fernandes despite being rumoured to be one game from the sack on three separate occasions this season.
Head of football operations Les Ferdinand has taken temporary charge, supported by Chris Ramsey, while QPR seek a new manager.
Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood is the early favourite to replace Redknapp and link up again with Ferdinand, who was part of his White Hart Lane coaching staff.
"Sadly I need immediate surgery on my knee which is going to stop me from doing my job in the coming weeks," said Redknapp in a QPR statement.
"It means I won't be able to be out on the training pitch every day, and if I can't give 100 per cent, I feel it's better for someone else to take over the reins.
"My relationship with Tony Fernandes has been one of the highlights of my footballing career and I wish the club every success. I am confident they will survive in the Premier League this year.
"I have had such a fantastic time at QPR. I would like to thank the board, the players and all my staff, and especially the supporters who have been absolutely fantastic to me since I arrived at the club for their tremendous support."
Redknapp had continuously claimed he needed to add a host of January reinforcements to his squad in his bid to help QPR avoid the drop.
Chairman Fernandes seemed to go against the grain with a tweet on Monday's final day of the transfer window however.
The QPR boss tweeted: "No more cheque book. We have good players. Bought all the players manager asked for in summer. Our players not mercenaries. Good guys."
And while Redknapp's imminent surgery will certainly put him out of commission for some time, there was clear strain behind the scenes between manager and board at Loftus Road.
Fernandes still wished Redknapp well in accepting the former West Ham manager's resignation, however.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Harry for everything he has done for QPR during his time in charge," said Fernandes in QPR's statement.
"We part on good terms and I would personally like to wish him all the best for the future."
Redknapp's season was beset by intrigue and outrage, with the 67-year-old rowing publicly with his own players before claiming an internal witch-hunt against him.
Redknapp claimed misfit midfielder Adel Taarabt was "about three stone overweight" in an extraordinary outburst following QPR's 3-2 home defeat to Liverpool.
Morocco midfielder Taarabt then posed for pictures to prove his fitness a day later, before QPR chief Fernandes had to step in and publicly demand the duo call a truce.
Redknapp repeatedly claimed he was happy working to QPR's limited transfer budget, but still maintained he needed to bolster his forward line.
Rangers were unable to send Mauro Zarate back to West Ham on Monday despite only signing him on loan at the start of the January window.
Premier League rules forbid players returning to their parent club in the same window as they are loaned out.
In failing to offload Zarate, Redknapp missed out on loaning West Ham winger Matthew Jarvis, as top-flight clubs cannot loan two players from the same club.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article