Freshly crowned Manager of the month Mark Warburton has admitted he was close to losing his job at QPR 12 months ago.

The Rs boss has led a superb turnaround in the year since, with his side now sat fifth in the Championship ahead of Monday night’s clash with Sheffield United.

A play-off push would be boosted with another three points at Bramall Lane, as well as being the perfect way to celebrate his Sky Bet Championship manager of the month award for November.

But the 59-year-old knows how quickly things can turn in football, when reflecting on where his team were at in December 2020.

"Go back a year I was probably a game away from being in real trouble," he told Sky Sports.

“We were sitting in 19th, playing well but not getting results. But here we are a year later and we're sitting in the top six, with people talking about promotion.

"I've been given the luxury of time, and with the quality of staff we have here we have been able to build an environment which is conducive to players coming in, developing and learning.

"I've seen a lot of changes, and I've seen young players develop. It always comes down to any individual being given the time to put their mark on the club."

The recent form was also highlighted by his exciting winger Chris Willock taking the player of the month award.

Rangers did suffer a rare bump in the road recently in a 2-0 defeat at home to fellow play-off chasers Stoke City last week.

But a win at Bramall Lane would give them a huge boost going into a busy festive period.

"In my first year we came 13th, and last year we came ninth," Warburton added.

"So it would be foolish to say that we don't have to keep pushing for a play-off place, because anything less than that and the supporters would say we lack ambition and desire.

"The reality is our budget is probably 13th or 14th in the league, so from a financial perspective mid-table is where we should be. But we know we want more than that.

"You look at the size of some of the clubs and the budgets around us. Some could blow us out of the water. But we'll be judged by improving on last year's position. Anything less than that would be a failure.”