Rangers hail Robert Green as Julio Cesar blow offers hope in Harry Redknapp’s new empire

 
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Simon Johnson28 November 2012

The decision to appoint Harry Redknapp as the new manager of Queens Park Rangers has given many connected to the club a sense of hope again but no one appears to have been given a new lease of life by his arrival more than forgotten man Robert Green.

Whenever a manager is sacked, as Mark Hughes was by QPR last Friday, the players will often reel out predictable statements of sorrow, yet Green is unlikely to have shed too many tears.

Signed by Hughes on a free transfer from West Ham in the summer to become the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, he lost his place in the first XI just two weeks into the season.

Bizarrely, Hughes increased the sizeable wage bill to sign the experienced Julio Cesar on a free transfer from Inter Milan and the Brazil international has been first choice ever since.

Even though Green conceded five goals against Swansea on his debut, his rapid demotion was harsh and seemed more about finding a scapegoat for the club’s poor start to the season.

Watching on from the substitutes’ bench, the 32-year-old must have been looking forward to the January transfer window with vigour.

But Hughes’s departure appears to have brought about a change in fortune and Green could now be about to play a key part in QPR’s battle for survival.

Redknapp had to call upon Green at half-time in his first game in charge at Sunderland last night as Cesar had picked up a groin injury.

The England international could be forgiven if he’d taken to the field riddled with tension as he was suddenly thrown back into the spotlight, with an army of cameras present at the Stadium of Light to see Redknapp at work again.

But Green was totally calm and made the save of the game from Steven Fletcher to ensure Rangers picked up a crucial point against their relegation rivals and kept their second clean sheet of the campaign.

There is now a real possibility that Cesar could be ruled out for the next few weeks. Yet with Redknapp already filling Green and every member of the squad with a sense of confidence, the former West Ham man looks in the right frame of mind to prove his worth — starting with the visit of Aston Villa to Loftus Road on Saturday. Asked whether there was any concern that Cesar may face some time on the sidelines, defender Ryan Nelsen said: “Of course not, Green is just as good. You saw what he did out there, he was fantastic and there will be absolutely no problems with him being in goal for us.

“He made a great save [from Fletcher] and it was a fantastic moment for Rob. He looked really assured, he looked like an England international, which he is.

“Rob is a fantastic professional. He works very hard every day. Obviously he has been disappointed [with being out of the side], we all understand that, but he never lets his guard down in training.

“He puts in a good shift and that’s so important, it shows he is a good role model for the younger pros and younger keepers and everyone else. It is a clean slate and everybody will have to impress just to stay on the field.”

Redknapp should be satisfied with the response he got from his new team having only had one full training session following his appointment.

The players looked hungry for the ball and well organised in what appeared to be a solid 4-5-1 when Sunderland had the ball, which quickly switched to a 4-3-3 as they attacked.

QPR played the better football and were unfortunate not to take a first-half lead when Jamie Mackie’s shot was saved and Adel Taarabt’s effort from the rebound was blocked on the line.

Redknapp is all too aware there is a long way to go for QPR to climb out of trouble but his first task of replacing despondency in the squad with belief has been accomplished.

Nelsen added: “We got a point, it was one that we needed and will give us confidence. Now we can go into Saturday’s game against Aston Villa with a lot of belief and looking to get a win.”

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