FANS have claimed Gareth Ainsworth’s “haka” team bonding session “looked like a scene from The Office” as his QPR stars appeared to watch on bemused.
The 49-year-old, who has been dubbed “The Wild Thing”, left Wycombe after over a decade to take charge of the Championship club last month.
He has only managed to muster one win from his first four games in charge and the Rs are still licking their wounds after being battered 6-1 at Blackpool on Tuesday to leave them sitting just three places above the drop zone.
Former midfielder Ainsworth played 152 times for QPR and was twice caretaker boss at Loftus Road during the 2008-09 season.
But now he is back in West London as the main man, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract, and is hoping to repeat the stunning success he enjoyed at Wycombe after leading them from League Two all the way to the second tier.
Ainsworth was well-known for his unusual team-building methods at Adams Park and now he has attempted to “bring the boys together” and “enhance team spirit” with QPR by introducing his squad to an authentic Maori.
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The move began with Bruce Simpson, who runs the Haka Rebuilding Company in London, performing the haka in front of the seated players.
He then went on to talk about the culture and what it stands for and about “unity – kotahitanga” as well as explaining the meaning of the haka.
Simpson said: “It’s just being there for each other and being part of a bigger group, not just yourself but everyone around you.”
However, after the clip was shared by the club’s Twitter account, it soon went viral with supporters mocking the unusual scenes – and particularly the reaction of the players.
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One comment read: “QPR is an absolute s***show. Look at their faces!”
Another tweet read: “Looks like a episode from The Office.”
Ainsworth went on to explain why he decided to introduce Maori culture to his players and staff, saying: “It’s not just about sport performances, but about the mental side, the inner side of who you are as a person.
“He talked about the All Blacks and obviously the connection with how they’ve dominated the world of rugby union for so long with just a five million people island, and that didn’t start happening till the haka got introduced.
“When he talked about what the haka means, I think some of the boys really got an education today.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
