Mark Hughes was sacked as manager of Queens Park Rangers this morning after just 10 months in charge of the London club.
Hughes leaves the club bottom of the Premier League, having picked up just four points and no wins from their opening 12 games.
Chairman Tony Fernandes had been vocal in his support for the Welshman, but has finally lost patience with the 49-year-old.
Here, Sports Mole examines exactly where it all went wrong for Hughes.
Replacing Neil Warnock
Hughes knew that he would have a tough job on his hands when taking over at the club in January of this year. Not only did he have to stave off the threat of relegation, joining when the club were hovering one place above the relegation zone, but he also had to follow Neil Warnock. Warnock may not be every fan's cup of tea, but he developed an affinity with the QPR faithful by turning them from Championship relegation candidates to all-conquering champions within the space of a year. His Premier League performances weren't great, but the feeling amongst QPR fans was that he would still be able to keep them up, leaving Hughes with big shoes to fill.
Summer spending
Having survived relegation on the final day of last season, despite a dramatic loss to Manchester City, Hughes embarked on a summer spending spree to ensure that they wouldn't have to endure a similarly nerve-wracking end to the next season. Players such as Julio Cesar, Jose Bosingwa, Esteban Granero and Park Ji-Sung arrived at Loftus Road, coming from some of the world's top clubs to join the Rangers revolution. The plan didn't work, however, as QPR remain without a win despite such heavy investment. The signings meant that Hughes's side could not afford to underperform, and that is exactly what they have been doing.
Losing to Southampton
QPR's 3-1 loss at home to Southampton was the final nail in the coffin for Hughes. Both sides occupied the bottom two spots in the Premier League and the match was being touted as an early season 'six-pointer'. Many Rangers fans hoped that this would be the match in which they would finally kickstart their season, but it merely served to provide the lowest point of an already dismal season for the Hoops.
Overall record
Hughes's ill-fated spell as QPR manager can ultimately be summed up in his overall record at the club. The Welshman won just six of 30 league games during his time as manager, losing 18. Of his 34 matches in charge in all competitions he won just eight, a win percentage of under 24%.
Barney Corkhill
