Blackburn-born Gareth Ainsworth has been appointed head coach at QPR - and his first game in charge will be against his hometown club.

The 49-year-old left League One side Wycombe Wanderers after 10 years in charge to sign a three-and-a-half-year deal at Loftus Road.

His first game in charge will be the weekend visit of boyhood club Rovers who last night moved into the top six with victory over Blackpool at Ewood Park.

Neil Critchley was sacked by QPR on Sunday after just 12 games in charge, having replaced Michael Beale in December.

Beale’s first game in charge was at Ewood Park, with a Lewis Travis goal sealing victory for Rovers on the opening day. He left the club in December for Rangers, with Ainsworth the third permanent manager at the club this season.

He told QPR’s official website: “This is all a little bit surreal. It has been a whirlwind two days and leaving Wycombe Wanderers was very tough because of the connection there.

“But this is QPR and when I spoke about something special forcing me away from Wycombe, this was pretty special.

“It’s the club where I was most known for playing and you get moments in your career that resonate with you forever.

“I loved my time here as a player and hopefully I can go on and love my time here as a manager as well.”

Ainsworth made 152 appearances in all competitions for QPR between 2003 and 2010 and had two spells as caretaker manager during the 2008/09 season.

He has been followed from Wycombe to Loftus Road by assistant head coach Richard Dobson and first-team analyst Josh Hart.

QPR chief executive Lee Hoos added: “We are delighted to have been able to bring Gareth in so quickly.

“I would like to thank Wycombe Wanderers for their professionalism. We have the utmost respect for them and are hugely sympathetic as we recognise the challenging nature of these circumstances.”

The Hoops are winless in 10 Sky Bet Championship matches and sit 17th in the table.