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Hasselbaink: The QPR job is very tough... but I love a challenge

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink knows he has a lot of hard work to do at QPR 2015 Getty Images

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink admits the QPR job has proved to be a tougher prospect than he initially expected it to be.

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Hasselbaink recorded his first win at the ninth attempt on Saturday, as Rangers triumphed 3-0 at Rotherham.

And, speaking exclusively to the Times, the Rangers manager admitted it was a welcome relief to finally get that elusive first victory in charge.

He said: “It’s very tough, but that’s what football is. Nothing is ever easy, it’s a lot of hard work, but I like hard work.

“There is a lot of work to be done here, I know that, but I am confident about what the future holds and the outcome it will eventually bring.

“The win was huge for everybody at the club – it gives us all a much-needed lift.

“It was very important for us going forward.

“I think we have been very unlucky not to have got a couple of wins before now, but we were not clinical enough in front of goal. Against Rotherham we were, though.”

There were mixed feelings for many Rs supporters on Saturday, as they had learned before the game that Charlie Austin would be leaving the club in a cut-price £4million move to Southampton.

While he was disappointed to lose his star striker, Hasselbaink says the Rs must now look forward and not back.

He said: “It is what it is, it’s about the boys that are here now and the impact they can have at this club.

“Yes, I was disappointed to see Charlie leave, but that’s football. He asked to leave the club and it was in everyone’s best interests for him to move on, especially as he was out of contract in the summer.

“The most important thing for me is the boys that are here now, and working every day with them as we try to climb the table together and improve as a team.

“They deserve more than only talking about Charlie.”

The former Burton Albion boss maintains that he has high hopes for German striker Sebastian Polter, who scored his third goal in four games at the New York Stadium.

“Seb is a good player who needs to start believing in himself a bit more,” said Hasselbaink.

“He has got a lot of plus points and qualities to his game, and we need to make sure we get them out of him.

“He’s still a young boy at the end of the day, but he’s learning and we think there is a lot more to come from him.”