Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas has lavished praise on QPR manager Harry Redknapp by saying that the club are extremely fortunate to have him as the manager.

QPR were relegated from the Premier league during the regime of Redknapp, but it is largely seen as the fault of his predecessors rather than the former Portsmouth manager. He is one of the few English managers with the experience of having managed in the Champions League knockout stages when he got Tottenham to the quarter-final stage of the competition.

Despite relegation last summer, Redknapp has been able to make QPR into a title challenging team in the championship. They are second in the table – only a point behind leaders Burnley – after managing to win 12 out of the opening 21 matches. Jenas has said that Redknapp may be managing in the Championship, but he is still one of the top managers in England right now. He has been a major influence towards galvanising the squad after a difficult summer. QPR faced an uncertain future after relegation because they had a huge budget.

Tony Fernandes has ploughed a lot of money into the club in the last 12 months and they desperately need to stay in the Premier league in order to sustain the expenses. “He is still a top-level manager. I am sure he had to think things over during the summer because he knows he is not a young manager and he was linked with the England job not long ago. The boss has done a fantastic job. The fact he has stuck around is a blessing. One of the biggest things he has brought to us after the disappointment of last year is that everyone is on the same page,” said Jenas.

QPR face Nottingham Forest a day later than rivals Burnley in the next match.