 Tuesday, 22nd Feb 2011 08:48 Paul Jewell says he’s had plenty of dust-ups with QPR manager Neil Warnock over the years, even stretching back to his time as a player. However, the Blues boss says Warnock, whose table-topping side his Town team faces at Loftus Road this evening (KO 8pm), is a very good manager and he expects the west Londoners to be promoted to the Premier League this season. Jewell said: “I’ve had plenty of dust-ups with Neil. I was a player at Bradford and he was manager of Huddersfield and we had a few run-ins then. “I went to the touchline because he was telling to someone to ‘do me’ and I quite politely told him to have a go himself and by that time he was under the piano with the lid down! “Our paths have crossed on loads of occasions. His record is second to not too many. One being mine though!” The Town manager says they spoke often when Warnock’s Sheffield United followed Jewell’s Wigan into the Premier League: “I’ve got to know Neil quite well over the years. “I remember when Sheffield United got promoted he was on the phone to me all the time asking me what wages he should be getting and what’s the best way to survive because we were already in the Premiership. Ironically we beat them last game of the season to relegate them. “He’s a terrific manager. Certainly at this level, there aren’t too many better at getting teams out of this division.” Jewell says he felt sorry to relegate the Blades after a David Unsworth penalty saw the Latics to a 2-1 victory on the final day of the 2006/07 season, another ex-Town player, Jon Stead, having scored for Warnock’s side: “When I was at Wigan we beat Sheffield United. He was too busy moaning about West Ham and weakened teams. It was a great day for us because if we’d have drawn we’d have gone down. “I think they were expecting Manchester United to beat West Ham, as most teams would. It was crazy how it worked out. “As elated as I was, it was horrible to be there and relegate people because you know it’s going to have a knock-on effect at the club and in the city. As pleased as we were, it was horrible to see a team get relegated.” While agreeing with former Town boss Joe Royle that Warnock could start a row in an empty room - “He could, and he’d lose it!” — Jewell says there’s a lot more to the 62-year-old than tends to make the headlines: “To manage for 1,000 matches is a huge achievement. I remember when Joe reached the same level. That’s an awful lot of years in the game. “He’s got great experience, he’s been around the block, if you look deeper than his antics and his wind-ups, he’s got a terrific record. “I’m not a friend of his as such, I’ve known him for a number of years and I don’t have a problem with Neil at all. More than being a nice fella, he’s a good football manager.” For all his success in the Football League, Warnock has never managed a ‘big club’ and Jewell says he will now see QPR as his last chance to make an impression in the top flight if and when they make it: “He had the opportunity at one time, he turned down Chelsea when he was at Notts County. I think he’ll see QPR as his best bet to get back in the Premiership and at the moment they’re looking strong favourites.” Jewell says Warnock’s knack of bringing in the right players has been the main factor in his success: “I think it’s his recruitment — getting the right players. He gets the most out of his players. He’s a certain type of manager. His teams are always hardworking, they’re tough to beat. “QPR are certainly that, they don’t concede many goals and they’ve got matchwinners in the team as well, and that makes a huge difference.” Jewell says he believes QPR will win promotion this season, even if they are getting to what can be a tough time: “I’m expecting them to go up. I would think so, they’re five points clear of Forest. Put it this way, they’ll never have a better opportunity. “It’s funny though, it comes to this stage of the season and this is when people can get twitchy and all of a sudden leads can whittle away. “All of a sudden the reality of promotion to the Premier League can start to play on players’ minds. But what he’s got there is a lot of experience in the likes of Shaun Derry, Clint Hill, Heidar Helguson and Rob Hulse, who have all been there and done it before. “He’s got an experienced squad there and when it comes to the run-in, I don’t think it will affect them too much.” And if QPR do make it, Jewell believes they will be well worth a place in the top flight: “Whoever gets to the Premiership deserves to get there. You’re never lucky over a season, you get what you deserve and in my opinion the best teams get promoted and the worst teams get relegated. “You’re going to be unlucky on the odd occasion, but over 46 games, in my view, the best will get promoted and the worst relegated. If Neil gets promoted to the Premiership, he’ll fully deserve it.”
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