Saturday 16 January 2016 21:20, UK
QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said a U-turn by Charlie Austin led to the striker being sold to Southampton.
The 26-year-old, who has been out for a month with a hamstring problem, was out of contract in the summer and finalised a £4million move to St Mary's on Saturday.
Hasselbaink, who enjoyed his first win in charge of Rangers as they ended their eight-game drought with a 3-0 victory at Rotherham, said Austin told him he wanted to stay at Loftus Road before changing his mind amid Southampton's interest.
"Hopefully I'll get all of that money," Hasselbaink said. "Six weeks ago Charlie told me that he was going to stay until at least the end of the season.
"We were planning for Charlie being here. Yesterday he came to see me and said he had an opportunity to go to Southampton and he wanted to go.
"What do you do? He had six months left, the club decided to sell him. The club is bigger than whoever. It will give an opportunity to someone else. Charlie wanted to go, he went, we move on."
Austin watched from the stands as new club Southampton ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against West Brom and Hasselbaink later told the Hoops' official website he was looking to make signings before the end of the January transfer window.
"As a club, we move on. No one player is bigger than the club," the former Burton Albion manager added. "We will look to bring someone in if we can.
"There are probably two vacancies for front players in the squad. We are actively looking. But we need to find the right player - the right player to take us forward."
The disappointment of losing Austin will have eased with victory against the Millers, which came after a second-half revival at New York Stadium.
Hasselbaink's side were well off the pace in the first half but turned it around after the break, getting a first win since December 5 thanks to goals from Junior Hoilett, Matt Phillips and Sebastien Polter.
