Last chance for Barton at QPR

QPR owner Tony Fernandes has warned Joey Barton that he will face the sack if he repeats his antics from the final day of last season.

The former Newcastle man was handed a 12-match suspension following a series of incidents during Manchester City’s dramatic 3-2 win in May, as he first elbowed Carlos Tevez before lashing out at match winner Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.

QPR launched their own internal investigation, fining Barton six weeks’ wages, stripping him of the club captaincy and inserting a clause into his contract stating he faces the sack if he acts out of line once more, leaving his Loftus Road future in serious doubt.

Fernandes, though, believes everyone deserves a second chance and is hoping the former captain can focus solely on his football from now on.

“Joey’s realised his mistakes and hopefully we can put this behind us. I am someone who believes everybody deserves a chance — as long as that someone shows they want the chance,” Fernandes told The Sun.

“For me, it’s now down to Joey. I can say whatever I want, but it’s all up to Joey.”

Fernandes believes that incident can now pass with everyone involved now having learnt a lesson as he urges to focus on the season ahead having come to a justified conclusion to the matter.

“I applaud everyone in this process. Common sense prevailed,” he said.

“Joey’s put a lot at risk by saying I’m going to prove that I want to remain a member of QPR, and credit to him.

“We have been hard and rightly so — but everyone has come out of this a winner and we’ve done it with style.

“We weren’t pushed to rush into any decision. We haven’t overreacted. We took our time, evaluated the situation and came up with a solution.”