Former Arsenal coach was added to Mark Warburton’s backroom staff earlier this month

Neil Banfield says he cannot wait to start working with the Queens Park Rangers players after joining the club as their new assistant manager.

The 57-year-old joined the Rs' backroom staff earlier this month as number two to new boss Mark Warburton.

Banfield has plenty of experience in the game having previously spent over 20 years working for Arsenal in various capacities.

That experience could prove crucial next term with the Loftus Road side tipped to struggle in the Sky Bet Championship.

Banfield, though, is upbeat about QPR's chances and is looking forward to starting work in his new role.

The new assistant manager told the club website: "I haven't worked with Mark before but I was very close with him when he was at Watford and I was at Arsenal.

"The training grounds were across the fence from each other, so we used to have games and got to know each other well.

"I went onto different pastures, and so did Mark, but we've kept in contact and I have found him interesting company on courses we've been on.

"I think our philosophies are very similar in the way we see the game. We understand that it's not beautiful football all of the time but we do know how we like our football teams to play."

Warburton has already spoken of a desire for his QPR team to play an attractive brand of football, something which Banfield echoes.

But the new assistant manager confirmed the Rs will have several alternatives to work with in case their primary plan for a game does not have the desired effect.

"You should know how you want to play and you need a vision in your mind of how you want to get there," he added.

"We are not naïve enough to say you should only play one way, especially if you're getting beaten every week. We want to win in style but we have to earn the way to go about it."