Jenas: I won’t ditch QPR

Midfield ace vows to stay even if club go down

THREE LIONS HUNTER ... Jermaine Jenas is hoping to resurrect his England career

Rangers are seven points from Premier League safety with six games left.

The Hoops look doomed to life in the Championship having thrown away a vital win against fellow strugglers Wigan on Sunday who levelled in injury time.

Manager Harry Redknapp has already said he will stay at Loftus Road if his team are relegated.

And Jenas signed an 18-month contract at Loftus Road when Redknapp took him from Spurs in January.

He said: “Everyone at the club has accepted me, taken me in after I was not in a great place in my career.

“QPR took a chance on me and it would be very harsh to go anywhere else. Everybody wants to play in the Premier League but I’m very happy at QPR.

“We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it but I’d love to stay.

“Obviously we’ve got a lot to do but we’re scoring goals now and giving ourselves a chance in games. When I first arrived we were finding it hard to score.”

The midfielder added: “Premier League football was a massive part of the reason I wanted to join QPR.

“A relegation battle is something I had never come across in my career before and no-one wants to be involved in one but I had always wondered what that pressure was like.

“It was something that I wanted to be part of, to try and get the team out of trouble.

“If I was part of the team that kept QPR in the Premier League it would be right up there as the biggest achievement in my career to date.”
Jenas has also set his sights on playing for England again.

The 30-year-old, who has been capped 21 times, has not represented his country since November 2009 but is not giving up on a recall under Roy Hodgson.

He said: “Look at some of the players that have drifted out of the system and
come back into it – the likes of Scott Parker. He is two years older than me and still getting picked.

“Thinking about age, there is Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard who are a little bit older than me but still in the team.

“Although there are young players coming through, there is always the question
of whether they are good enough.

“As long as I maintain my performances and keep myself fit, I would like to think that I would always be in the background of the manager’s thoughts.”

To add to QPR's misery Bobby Zamora will serve a three-match ban after being sent off for a rash challenge on Jordi Gomez in the QPR draw.

The 33 year-old, who was dismissed for serious foul play, will miss Ranger's crunch fixtures against Everton and fellow strugglers Stoke City and Reading.

No team in Premier League history has survived from QPR’s position but Andros Townsend insists they will not give up their fight to avoid relegation.

The on-loan Tottenham midfielder said: “We didn’t get the win we deserved. But that is football and we will keep going.”

Wigan levelled at 1-1 in the fourth minute of stoppage time on Sunday thanks to a free-kick from Shaun Maloney.

The result leaves the Latics third from bottom on 31 points, with a match in hand over 17th-placed Sunderland.

And boss Roberto Martinez, whose team have an FA Cup semi-final against
Millwall this weekend, believes Rangers could still defy the critics and stay up.

Martinez, the master of the Great Escape, said: “I think QPR have enough quality to get points between now and the end of the season.

“There are a lot of points to play for and anything could happen.

“You know every time you play one of Harry Redknapp’s teams they will be very strong and flexible. If they had been playing at this level all season they would be mid-table now.

“I think the points tally to survive has gone up after this weekend.

“People were talking about 36 or 37 points but I think it will be more now and anyone not on 38 or 39 points has a job to do to escape relegation.”