QPR players have moved on from Beale exit, says stand-in boss Hall

QPR caretaker boss Paul Hall says the players are only focused on the Burnley game on December 11 following the exit of Mick Beale to Rangers after less than five months in charge at Loftus Road.

Beale took his final training session with the squad at Heston on Sunday morning before he was named as the manager at Ibrox on Monday evening, after the Glasgow outfit agreed to pay out a £1.5m compensation fee for the 42-year-old and his coaching staff of Damian Matthew, Neil Banfield and Harry Watling.

Hall has been with Rangers for 10 years in a variety of academy coaching roles and is currently the B-team manager.

The former Portsmouth winger, who was also Jamaica’s national team manager on a temporary basis earlier this year, has been put in charge of the first team until the club find a replacement for Beale.

QPR’s board had already already drawn up a shortlist when it looked as if Beale was set to join Wolves in October.

“It is the second time I have done it this year so I knew it was really important we brought the lads back down to earth,” Hall said.

“The manager has gone, there is nothing we can do about it, we just have to continue in the same vein by keeping standards high.

“It wasn’t hard because the players already knew what the standards are, but I just needed to reinforce that and make sure the guys are all ready for that Burnley game in a couple of weeks.”

Hall took the team for the first time on Tuesday in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Scottish Premier League side Livingston, with the R’s running out 2-1 winners thanks to first-half goals from Sinclair Armstrong and Macauley Bonne.

Hall admitted the players and staff were surprised by the departure of Beale, who only said last month he turned down Wolves because he was fully committed to QPR.

But Hall said it is important the club get their promotion push back on track after slipping just outside of the play-off places when the season restarts after the World Cup break.

“We’ve seen (managers leave) many times at this club and I have seen it as a player and as a coach and we just have to accept changes happen,” he said,

“It is really important I get this (interim) job right, the club is the most important thing here.

“I’ve been here 10 years and seen a lot of managers come and go. But my focus now is just for us is to attack Burnley.

“We need everyone to focus on it, not just the staff but the supporters too, because although these players are resilient, they need everyone to get behind this team as they have got what it takes.”