By Steve Hoad IT seems like only yesterday I last wrote for the Times. I relayed the story of the alleged Jim Magilton-Akos Buszaky bust-up. That led to the departure of manager Magilton, and now, not four weeks later, I am writing again in the wake of an

By Steve Hoad

IT seems like only yesterday I last wrote for the Times. I relayed the story of the alleged Jim Magilton-Akos Buszaky bust-up. That led to the departure of manager Magilton, and now, not four weeks later, I am writing again in the wake of another manager leaving.

Four weeks! Am I fated to write a monthly piece against the backdrop of the busy departure lounge that is the QPR managers' office (spelling intentional)? A Groundhog Day article of revolving managerial doors?

I hope not.

I hope for stability, a word increasingly bandied about on Vital, along with "despair" "desolation" "doom" and "joke". Stability, a word I eschewed in the summer, hoping to escape the stability of mid-table finishes for the higher goal of a play-off place at least.

I hope I remain positive. It is easy to turn negative as "Rangers hit rock bottom" as a recent thread suggested.

I hope for managerial stability that will provide the platform for a return to the performances and results of late September and October.

I hope we gain promotion and, with Premier League money and higher sponsorship levels kicking in, we have the funds to secure a manager and the players to deliver the stability to remain there.

And for me, therein lies the rub. Do you recruit the manager and players to get you out of the Championship, and then jettison them because they are only of Championship standard (as most of the Rangers squad seem to be), and bring in a new manager and new players, who will perform to Premier League standard and keep you there?

"Commitment" is another word bandied about, but can you expect commitment from staff who know they are there for a job, and will be disposed of when that job - promotion - is done, perhaps as early as May?

Or do you gear up for the top flight now with a Premier League standard manager and players to whom the club remain committed, and who in turn remain committed to the club for the long term.

Commitment is, after all, a two-way street. Gearing up now seems extreme, expensive, and may be unsuccessful, even if it were possible.

But for now, the transfer window is open, a new manager is imminent, and we still have the ingredients that seemed so promising in August.

We are rid of questionable managers, and perhaps with a few new faces, the performances will return, the wins will come, the points will accumulate, and Rangers will claw their way back up the Championship. Perhaps.

I hope.