Mark Hughes is upbeat on the chances of Queens Park Rangers avoiding relegation.
Mark Hughes is upbeat on the chances of Queens Park Rangers avoiding relegation.

Mark Hughes confident QPR will beat the drop from Premier League



Mark Hughes is confident Queens Park Rangers have enough quality to stave off relegation over their 12 remaining "crucial" matches.

The London side have only won only once in 14 Premier League games and languish 17th in the table, with only goal difference keeping them out of the relegation zone.

QPR welcome Everton to Loftus Road on Saturday off the back of a 1-0 defeat to west London rivals Fulham and Hughes, the manager, fully expects his side can pull through.

"We're in a difficult situation in terms of where we are in the league and we have to turn that around," the Welshman said.

"I have every confidence in the quality of players that I have in the club now that we can do that. I have no doubt about that.

"What we need to do to help ourselves is make sure we keep 11 on the pitch. That does help you win Premier League games.

"We'll address that and we're looking forward to the end of the season. It is going to be really, really exciting times.

"It will be up and down, I'm sure there will be twists and turns, but we're of the view that we're good enough to stay up this year.

"We've got a lot of quality in the club and, like I said, I have no doubt we can do it."

While confident of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship, Hughes has been disappointed at the number of points his side have managed to pick up since his arrival.

QPR face six of the top seven in their remaining 12 fixtures, but Hughes is not worrying about the opponents.

"We've come through a period where we have probably disappointed ourselves in terms of points we have been able to accumulate given the opposition," he said. "But possibly the fact we are going up against more-accomplished teams may help us in terms of focus.

"We are at the point of the season where we have to get points on the board. We only have 12 games to go.

"Each and every one of them is going to be crucial to us so it is irrelevant really who we are up against."

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl

Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: Dh99,000

On sale: now

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Hidden killer

Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.

The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.

Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.

Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.

Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu. 

Race card:

6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m

7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m

7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m

8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m

8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m

9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m

10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m

Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances