Queens Park Rangers: France’s Alou Diarra named first-team coach

Former France international Alou Diarra has joined QPR as Julien Stephan’s first-team coach.

Diarra made 44 appearances for Les Bleus, including in the 2006 World Cup final, during a career which saw him represent Lens, Bordeaux and Marseille in Ligue 1 plus West Ham in the Premier League and Charlton in the Championship.

The 43-year-old retired in 2017 and has since coached at Lens, when he came up against Stephan, and latterly at Troyes.

He told the R’s website, external: “It is a pleasure to be here and part of a new, exciting project with QPR. Working with players in the Championship, a very tough league, is very exciting.

“I want to share my experiences with the players to help them. I know with this league you have to be consistent and play to create chances so we have to build principles. It is a tough league but I hope I can help this young team to develop.

“The squad here has great potential. We must work hard to be better every day, step by step. I have a good feeling for this team and I am excited for the season to start. This pre-season will be very important.”