Having been appointed as manager of QPR at the back end of last season, Mark Warburton used the transfer window to strengthen his squad.
In so doing, he brought in two players he’d worked with during his stint at Ibrox – Lee Wallace and Liam Kelly.
For Wallace, the transfer signalled a fresh start after a wretched couple of seasons. He was frozen out first under Graeme Murty and then under Steven Gerrard and despite his best efforts, very rarely made it onto the pitch.
Unlike former club captain Wallace, Kelly didn’t quite make the grade at Ibrox in general. However, after taking the decision to leave permanently in search of regular senior football, he excelled at Livingston. For him, this move is a major career break, and a chance to showcase his abilities in England.
Two former Rangers players endure frustrating opening weeks
Unfortunately, though, things haven’t started as either player would have envisaged.
For Wallace, injury has come at the worst possible time. Mark Warburton confirmed late last month that the 32-year-old had suffered a recurrence of a hip injury, which stunted his pre-season preparations [Scottish Sun].
Although he claimed then that it wouldn’t be long until he was fit once more, Wallace hasn’t made the matchday squad for either of QPR’s first two Championship fixtures.
Likewise, Kelly is also yet to make his competitive bow. In this case, injury is not the issue, though.
It seems that for now, at least, the 23-year-old is second choice behind 6ft 5″ QPR Academy graduate, Joe Lumley. Kelly has watched on from the bench, while the Englishman has conceded just twice in two matches.
Not the ideal start for either former Ger, then.
It’s early days yet, though, and over the course of the whopping 46 game Championship season, both players will be hoping to establish themselves as regular starters under Warburton, in the second tier of the English game.
