Charlie Austin appears to aim subtle dig at Les Ferdinand following exit as QPR director of football | OneFootball

The 2022-23 season for Queens Park Rangers certainly started promising, but it soon went downhill and the wheels well and truly fell off in the middle of the campaign.

The Hoops went through three permanent managers across the 46 matches and it ended with club legend Gareth Ainsworth just about guiding them to Championship safety when it looked as though at one point there was serious danger of relegation to League One.

There will no doubt have been an inquest into the downfall of the season since the end of the campaign and there has now been a significant departure from behind the scenes at Loftus Road.

Les Ferdinand leaves QPR as director of football

He has been much maligned for his role as director of football, but former England international Les Ferdinand has exited Queens Park Rangers after eight years in the job.

It is claimed by the club that Ferdinand has decided to step down from the job, with the 56-year-old saying he wants to stay in football but ultimately believes his time is up at the Hoops.

“This has not been an easy decision," Ferdinand said on the QPR official website.

"My life is football, I love football and I want to stay in football but I do feel this is the right time for me to step down from my position here.

“There have been challenging times and I have had to make some very difficult decisions but every decision I have made has been with the best interests of the club at heart.

“I would like to thank the owners whose commitment to this club is incredible. They have such a strong desire to give QPR fans the club they deserve and I will be their biggest supporter as they look to achieve it."

Charlie Austin seemingly comments on Les Ferdinand's QPR exit

Ferdinand was increasingly criticised over recent years for matters both on and off the pitch at QPR, including the fact the club went through three head coaches in the 2022-23 season.

And one former Hoops favourite who appears to have taken a dig at him before his departure was confirmed is Charlie Austin.

Austin played for QPR in two stints with 148 matches and 63 goals under his belt, and both times he was at the club Ferdinand was director of football.

Seemingly sharing the fans' frustrations with Ferdinand and the job he did, Austin on Friday morning posted an interestingly-timed tweet that seemed to reference the news that he was set to leave the Hoops.

And with the QPR fans reacting in kind and assuming Austin was talking about Ferdinand, you could just see the nature of how many people wanted Ferdinand to step down.

The R's will now have to find Ferdinand's replacement in the hope that they can work together with head coach Ainsworth and push the club up the Championship table for the 2023-24 season.