Mark Warburton has labelled assistant coach John Eustace as "outstanding" in response to a question about whether he could replace him at QPR.

The west London club confirmed on Thursday that Warburton was leaving at the end of his contract – meaning next Saturday's game against Swansea City will be his last as manager.

It remains to be seen who the R's will look to bring in as the 59-year-old's replacement but Eustace has been linked with a number of Championship jobs in the past, including Swansea last summer, and has served as caretaker boss previously so the young coach will surely be considered.

Speaking to FLW after last night's 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United, Warburton was pressed on whether he felt his assistant was ready to step up.

He said: "I'm never going to speak for John, you know that, but in terms of my opinion of John, John is outstanding.

"John, myself, Neil, we work very closely together every day, every aspect of whether it be training, the schedule or the game preparation with the team.

"I knew John from Watford. I was the academy manager and he was a player, I can see his passion for the game and his desire to push on.

"I've no doubt John's got an outstanding future in the game. Right now, I very much enjoy working with him.

"When the time is right for John to do what he wants to do, I won't stand in his way that's for sure. I'll only ever support him.

"Right now, we're working very well together so let's see what happens."

Back in March, Eustace was appointed Republic of Ireland's assistant – a role he performs alongside his QPR responsibilities.

According to The Athletic, Eustace interviewed for the Swansea job last summer and has a growing reputation in the game.

He's never managed in the EFL but did spend two years in charge of Kidderminster Harriers before joining the R's in 2018.

The Verdict

We know that the budget at QPR is fairly tight so it wouldn't be a surprise to see them follow the recent trend of promoting from inside the club.

Eustace is a young coach with a good reputation and you do feel it's only a matter of time before he's managing in the EFL.

R's fans should respect Warburton's opinion and he speaks very highly of his current assistant.

However, it may be that the west London club are looking to move in a different direction.