Hughes confirms sacked Blues youngster will not be joining QPR

QPR manager Mark Hughes has confirmed that his club will not be signing young midfielder Jacob Mellis.

The Welshman handed Mellis, 21, a trial after the player was sacked by Chelsea for letting off a smoke grenade at their Cobham training ground.

Mellis has since been arrested after a domestic incident.

He played and scored in a recent appearance for Rangers’ reserve team and Hughes was keen to give him a chance to relaunch his career.

“He’s no longer here. Maybe it wasn’t the right time for him or us to pursue it, so we didn’t,” said Hughes.

Meanwhile, the R’s boss has told his players that keeping their discipline could be the key to causing an upset in Sunday’s derby against Chelsea.

Amid the inevitable furore surrounding Anton Ferdinand and John Terry, Hughes wants the team to focus on winning their battle against relegation.

“If we can be disciplined and understand what is required against Chelsea then we could get a positive result,” he said.

“It would be massive if we could get something and then come back to Loftus Road for a huge game against Stoke.”