Rahim Sterling, almost totally unheard of prior to this weekend, is said to be attracting interest from the biggest clubs in the country after playing for QPR Under 18s aged just 14 and earning international honours.

Sterling is said to be the brightest young prospect at Loftus Road having played four years above his age group already this season. His profile has been kept under wraps by QPR until this weekend but with tabloid press reports stating the player and his family have already been guests of Liverpool and Rahim earning his first call up to the England Under 16 side this weekend Rangers have been forced to comment.

Youth team coach Stephen Gallen said: "I'm proud for him and his family, he is a great lad, very popular at the club and has bundles of potential. If he keeps his feet on the ground and continues to work hard in training, he's got a very bright future ahead of him."

The Sunday People reports that Rangers are keen to persuade Sterling to stay by throwing him straight into first team action as soon as he turns 15 in December. However the paper also claims a meeting where Sterling was due to sign YTS forms with Rangers failed to happen last week as the player was a guest of Liverpool at their game with Man Utd.

Following Friday night’s defeat against Leicester injured midfielder Hogan Ephraim told Soccer AM that heightened expectations may have played a part in the defeat but he still expects QPR to be fighting for automatic promotion come May. Ephraim said: “If we play to our ability, top six is our aim, but we can push even higher, maybe top two. The manager drills it into us all the time that he expects us to do that. Where we finished last year wasn't good enough and we know that. With the players we've got and the squad that we have we should be up there and if we keep our minds focussed and don't get too ahead of ourselves we'll have a good season.

“There was a lot of expectancy because we scored four in the previous three games and I think everyone was us expecting to turn up and see a goal fest but I think it's a reality check and that will help us in the long run.

“I had trouble with my ankle for about 12-18 months," he explained. "There was an extra bit of bone at the back of my ankle and I had two injections last year to help me through it, but the pain was just ridiculous. I had an operation almost a month ago now to remove the bone and so I've got another two weeks out and then I'll be back playing again and helping this lot get to the top of the league."

Manager Jim Magilton meanwhile urged his players to respond on Tuesday against Crystal Palace. Magilton said: “Leicester didn't have to work particularly hard for both goals. It was a game where we moved the ball quite well at times, but it's very disappointing overall. I think one or two of our lads thought that it was going to be a natural continuation of how we finished the game at Derby, where we were creating chances at will. Unfortunately in this game there are no magic switches, you can't switch on or off. Defensively tonight we were second best - and I think we got our just rewards.

"Leicester are playing with confidence, their front two worked extremely hard and put our defence under extreme pressure tonight. They're on an excellent run and belief is high within their team. It is important that we bounce back against Palace. Hopefully I'm smiling on Tuesday night. I'm encouraged by our recent fine form and I'm not going to go over the top with one loss. We'll see how we are against Palace, it'll be a real test of character for us - let's see who's prepared to stand up.”

There was better news for R’s fans on Friday though with club captain Martin Rowlands rubbishing reports in the Daily Star that he is about to retire after suffering another bad knee injury. Rowlands told the official website: “That's absolute rubbish. Obviously it was a massive blow to pick up the injury but to suggest I am thinking about packing it in is ridiculous. I am more determined than ever to come back from this. The team are really starting to come together now and, having been with the Club through thick and thin, I want to make sure I am part of the next chapter. Anyone who knows me will know how focused I am on getting back and playing for this club."

Jim Magilton said: "Martin will be back, we've got no doubts about that. These reports are completely false."

Head Physio Paul Hunter added: "The surgeon is completely happy with Martin's progress. He is precisely where we expect him to be at this stage of his rehabilitation."
br> Up at Watford Heidar Helguson finally made the second appearance of his loan spell with the Hornets this weekend, coming on as a second half sub in a 5-0 defeat at West Brom. Helguson scored twice on his debut against Leicester in September but has been out injured ever since after suffering a calf tear in that game. Manager Malky Mackay said: “Heidar is involved and available. He's trained well and it's a big boost to the squad that we have got him back amongst our group.”

The rumour mill, as well as talking about Rahim Sterling, has also linked in form winger Wayne Routledge with a move to Birmingham City in January. Routledge, who the official stats say leads the Championship in assists with eight although the official LFW stat pack only has him on four (a Monday spent reviewing video tape for me then), has been in fine form this season. Birmingham have money to spend following the Carsen Yeung takeover and are also said to be looking at Middlesbrough’s Adam Johnson and Tottenham’s Roman Pavlyuchenko.

In former QPR news midfielder Liam Miller is wowing the Edinburgh public with his performances for second placed HIbs. Miller scored the second in a 2-0 win against Aberdeen on Saturday that lifted Hibs above Rangers in the SPL and manager John Hughes told the Scotsman: “Liam is a close friend of Graham Barrett, who I had at Falkirk and is now with Shamrock Rovers and is doing a bit of work as an agent. So there I was sitting in the house one night when the phone went and it was Liam at the other end. I think Graham must have given us a right good reference. In any case, we talked about a couple of things and he said he wanted to enjoy his football again. I don't think he'd been doing that for the last year or so, he'd seen the side of football that's not so pleasant. He just wanted to be playing with a smile on his face.

"I've no doubt Liam is a millionaire but he wasn't hard to deal with. He wants to enjoy his football and it's great to see him running about with that smile on his face. There's no big-time Charlie about him, he is one of the most humble guys you could ever meet. That's what I want, Hibs as a working class club because to me it's working class values which make you the guy you are. There shouldn't be egos, my mentality has always been that anything you get out of football comes from putting everything you have into every day. Liam just goes about his business quietly, he has a word for all the young boys, he's first on the training pitch where he sets such high standards and one of the last off it. He's in there among the rest of the boys. It's becoming a bit like what you used to read about, albeit on a different scale, with Eric Cantona at Manchester United when he'd stay behind after training to work by himself.”

Elsewhere in the Championship this weekend Cardiff missed the chance to go top of the table when they conceded a last minute equaliser to Nottingham Forest on Sunday evening. That means West Brom lead us into next week after a 5-0 home win against Watford. Newcastle can return to the summit if they win at Sheffield United on Monday.

Photo: Action Images

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