Hughes full of praise for Queens Park Rangers owner Fernandes

Mark Hughes insists he has no problem with Queens Park Rangers owner Tony Fernandes mingling with the club’s supporters in local pubs before home games.

Hughes was appointed as Neil Warnock’s replacement at QPR in January by Fernandes but the 48-year-old’s side have lost five of their last six games.

Fernandes recently revealed on Twitter that he visited a number of pubs around the Loftus Road area, meeting QPR fans on Friday.

“I think Tony likes that part of it, in his business he was very people orientated and that’s how he gets an understanding of the businesses he is involved with,” said Hughes.

“He’s a very successful businessman and a lot of the things he does in business you’re able to do in football and get the impact and the knowledge that you need to drive it forward.

“Everybody knows that Tony’s got the best interests of the club at heart. He’s put a lot of his finances into his club to make sure the club is healthy in the future and is able to grow.

“I don’t think anyone can really criticise him for wanting to do that.”

And when asked would Hughes consider having a drink with QPR supporters on match day, he said: “Maybe not on match day. It’s something I’ve done in the past.

“I think that in the right circumstances it is good for the fans to have access to you and sometimes.”