QPR new coach: The English Championship may be the most difficult league in the world, and young players are more likely to grow here

July 21st News Queen's Park Rangers' new coach Julian Stephen recently interviewed the media, saying that the Championship may be the most difficult league in the world.

Stephen said: "After two months off, his wife said she hoped I would return to the coach's seat as soon as possible. She said she wanted to see me shine and heat in my environment."

After leaving Rennes for the second time last November, Stephen watched 20 to 25 games a week while waiting for new opportunities. He finally took over QPR last month. But the coach who led Rennes to the Champions League for the first time and helped Strasbourg reach the best Ligue 1 ranking since 1980 cherishes the respite after six years of coaching.

Stephen said: "You need to leave time for your family and yourself, which is important. But you also need to observe different leagues, analyze games, reflect on the past and plan for the future. It is crucial to start to conceive a blueprint."

QPR fans expect this young coach to end the team's dilemma of wandering in the middle and lower reaches of the Championship in the past decade. Although Stephen has heard that in 1993, Les Ferdinand led the team to the fifth place in the first year of the Premier League, he emphasized that he must base himself on the present to have the opportunity to break through the Championship, which may be "the most difficult league in world football."

Stephen said: "I understand the history of QPR, but now it is a new stage. While remembering history, we must also build the future. This requires all the participation of players, management, CEO, boss and even club legends. We know that fans' expectations must give all their money on the court and create a distinctive style. Winning and losing are impermanent, but we must do our best."

The busyness since taking office has made Stephen even have no time to move in In his new home near the club, he said: "Only work, work, and work again. Hotels, training bases, training classes are running round..."

The team is currently training in Girona. Stephen said: "This is the starting point for building a tactical system and tacit understanding between coaches and players, and it must be progressed step by step."

Stephen, who played for Paris Saint-Germain youth training but has never played in the top league, retired at the age of 27 and specialized in coaching career. He has been in charge of Rennes U19 for three years and studied in sports science and technology. He said: "Learning is to practice my youth training philosophy. In the beginning, choosing this industry was not to imitate my father, but to be eager to cultivate young people. To be honest, I thought I would work in youth training for life, and only change my mind after 12 to 15 years. Of course, we will communicate, but he hoped that I would accumulate my own experience."

Rennes Youth Training has produced talents such as Dembele, Kamavenga, Doku and Duai in recent years. They either play in the youth team they coached or the first team they were in the helm twice. A few months after taking over Rennes temporarily in 2018, he led the team to defeat Paris and won his first championship in nearly 50 years of team history. Stephen knew that QPR was difficult to replicate the Rennes model, but he pointed out his unique advantages: "We can tell young players' families that playing in the Championship at the age of 18 or 19 is easier to grow than in the Premier League. The best seedlings may leap to the Premier League in the future, and this development path is worth promoting."

"But comparing QPR youth training with top geniuses such as Dembele and Camavenga is not realistic. The key is to create opportunities for the college elites to practice with professional teams, so that the best people can enter the first team."