Mbia: I thought QPR were Scottish

QPR midfielder Stephane Mbia has admitted he thought his new club played in Scotland before he completed his 6.2 million-euro move from Marseille.

The 26-year-old, who was sent off in QPR’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal on Saturday, left Ligue 1 for the Premier League to join the likes of Ryan Nelsen, Jose Bosingwa and Julio Cesar at Loftus Road as manager Mark Hughes reshaped the London club.

The Cameroonian has revealed, however, that he knew little about the club and that Hughes had only limited knowledge of what he could bring to the table.

“The manager knew my name and had seen me in the Champions League, but did not really know whether I was good or not,” Mbia told L’Equipe.

“I thought they were a Scottish club. Marseille needed the money. So I thought why not if it is for their good and mine, but I would never have thought of coming here.”

Mbia, who can also play in defence, also elaborated on the differences in preparation at QPR compared to his experiences in France.

“There is only ­playing and very little tactics,” he said. “We don’t ­really train in the week, we have rest days, but we haven’t the right to mess up on match days.”

QPR sit bottom of the Premier League table having failed to win any of their nine matches so far.