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Hughes - Barton to keep armband

New QPR boss Mark Hughes admits he still needs to get to know his squad, but he has no plans to strip Joey Barton of the club captaincy.

Incoming boss has no plans to replace midfielder as skipper

New Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Hughes admits he still needs to get to know his squad, but he has no plans to strip Joey Barton of the club captaincy. QPR have turned to Hughes following their decision to part with Neil Warnock, with the club hoping that a change in the dugout will bring about a reversal in fortune. Hughes inherits a side that is sat just above the Premier Leagued drop zone, with the club looking anxiously over their shoulder. Results have not lived up to expectation, but there are no plans to implement radical change at Loftus Road. Stability is key from this point on, and that means summer signing Barton will continue to skipper the side.

Dynamics

"Joey's the captain and I see no reason to change that, as we speak," Hughes told QPR Player. "Obviously, I'll be having conversations with all the players and understanding the dynamics of the team. "But it's not my intention to take the captaincy away." It is reported that Hughes has been handed a £30million transfer kitty by owner Tony Fernandes, but he insists he is in no rush to start splashing the cash. "It's all well and good saying there's a certain amount but you've got to be able to spend it in the right way and with the right players," said Hughes, who has reportedly already lodged a bid for Chelsea defender Alex. "If there are weaknesses then we need to address them."
Ambition
Hughes is confident he can turn QPR around, with it his intention to emulate his achievements at Blackburn and have the club challenging at the opposite end of the table in the not too distant future. He said: "I think we (Blackburn) were second from bottom and we ended that season something like 15th and then the next year we were sixth, which would be great to replicate. We can do that." The fact Fernandes shares that ambition convinced Hughes to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal, with the Welshman having quit Fulham last summer because he felt they had not bought into his vision. "I needed to understand what the owners want for the club and that was communicated to me very, very quickly and with great enthusiasm and passion," he said.

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