Harry Redknapp has reacted angrily to criticism of QPR’s poor Championship form, and dismissed suggestions that his position as manager is under threat.

A report in the national media this week claimed that the QPR hierarchy were considering sacking Redknapp after last weekend’s defeat at Charlton Athletic left the club fourth in the table, seven points off the automatic promotion places.

Rangers host Leeds United at Loftus Road on Saturday, and Redknapp used his pre-match press conference on Friday to hit back at reports he is under pressure, insisting he retained the full support of both the QPR fans and the board.

Asked whether he thought his position was in jeopardy, Redknapp said: “If it is, I don’t see why it should be. Is it acceptable to be fourth? Absolutely, I think we have done excellent to be fourth.

“[There is] not a chance that [the fans] turned. At the end of the game they might have been disappointed, when we conceded a goal in the last minute. But they didn’t turn on me.

“I have great backing from the owners - not a problem. They have been excellent. But there is no guarantee that you are going to go up.

“Did I give assurances? No, how can I give assurances that we will go up? How can I guarantee anything in football? If we go up, fantastic, and I still think we will go up.”

Redknapp said he would not consider quitting if QPR fail to win promotion. He added: “Why should I stand down if we don’t go up? I would talk to the owners, we would discuss it. At the moment I get on with it. Being fourth in the league is not the worst position to be in.

“Until we don’t go up it shouldn’t even be a question, should it? Judge it at the end of the year, don’t judge it now because we have lost a couple of games. If we don’t go up, it’s up to the people who run the club to make a decision over what they want to do.”

QPR are without a win in four matches, but Redknapp said he was happy with the character his side have shown despite their downturn in form. He also defended his transfer record, which has seen 18 players signed on a combination of permanent, loan and short-term deals since the end of last season.

He said: “We bought two players. We had players going out of here left, right and centre because we had to. They were players we wanted to shift. We had to bring players in and when you throw a new team together it can be very, very difficult.

“It’s very difficult when you come down. We’re still sitting above Reading and Wigan; they both came down last year. I must be mis-reading the script somewhere - we’re not Man United.

“I don’t know where you think we are entitled to be. You look at the other teams who have all come down, or you look at teams who have come down in the last few years, where are they?

“We’re not going to walk away with the league. West Ham came down a couple of years ago with a good team and got up through the play-offs. We can still make automatic [promotion], but if we don’t we’ll go up through the play-offs.

“We’re sitting fourth in the league, not fourth from the bottom or halfway. I just don’t understand it, really. I have been in this job a long time and I think I do understand football.”