Ian Holloway eyes Premier League comeback for QPR’s traditional support | Alan Smith

The returning manager feels he can invigorate a young squad on his return to Loftus Road and is in ‘the state of my life’ to impart wisdom

Few managers can rival Ian Holloway when it comes to offbeat soundbites, and there were many at his Queens Park Rangers unveiling on Wednesday. From the Football Association undermining Gareth Southgate and the dangers of Snapchat to putting books in his trouser pockets and the police’s apparent inability to find the culprits who set his son’s tattoo parlour on fire in February, the 53‑year‑old covered all the bases and more.

Related: QPR confirm appointment of Ian Holloway as new manager

Yet behind the seemingly infinite digressions, both witty and grim, there was also substance when it came to outlining his plans for restoring this club to its former self. Holloway wants to make QPR something the local community and its “working-man fanbase” can be proud of again. Most of that will centre on building up the belief of a young squad, but Holloway also needs time.

It would be patently foolish to assume a team currently equidistant between the playoffs and relegation can be promoted immediately. Elevation may not even happen next season – particularly when one weighs up QPR’s restricted budget compared to others in the Championship – but with patience he is in no doubt that Loftus Road can once again host top-flight football.

“This club belongs to the people, we understand that,” Holloway said. “I believe QPR fans just want to see their team care, to see them try and then believe that they’ll have a chance of being there [the Premier League] one day. I know we’ll do it, it’s just when. I’d be stupid to say this year or next.”

All well and good, but so much has happened in the decade he has been away, the immediate temptation is to point out the forbearance required for him to implement his masterplan is unlikely to be afforded by the club. Eleven managers have passed through since his departure in 2006, while he has enjoyed success and failure in equal measures with five other teams.

“Everything is instant now, you have got to win,” added Holloway, who kicks off his second spell with a home game against Norwich on Saturday . “You have to earn that right and it’s becoming more difficult in this crazy world.”

On a positive note, Holloway described the attitude of the squad he has inherited as being “so refreshing” and believes he is in the “state of my life to bring all my knowledge” to help them improve. Bearing in mind the makeup of the team, which he thinks contains too many No10s and not enough goalscorers, it is worth contrasting with his last unveiling, at Millwall in 2014, when he spoke of that squad having “too many chiefs but not enough Indians”.

The opposite is probably true here. In Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s final game, a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest, six of the starting outfield players were 25 or under. It is going to take a while to nurture the young players and there was a moment here when he was listing every attacking member of his squad with a lofty superlative attached – clearly a deliberate attempt to augment confidence.

Holloway made the players sit down and watch the Samuel L Jackson film Coach Carter at the beginning of the week as a motivation tool. “We have more than enough young fellas coming through who have had a really hard life and find it very difficult,” he said. “I want to be there for them. I wanted them to understand that.”

He also says he knows more now than ever. Since leaving Millwall Holloway became a prominent figure on television screens, working as a lead pundit for Sky’s Football League coverage, and said it was fascinating to hear how he could “see the pressure we were putting on managers” when analysing their performances. The flipside is it also helped him learn, namely from discussions with Rafael Benítez and Gary Rowett among others. He has praised both to the hilt but must now look at them as the enemy to achieve his goal of promotion.

“I want to carry on that legacy of what QPR means to people, and I think they trust me with that at the moment and a ball hasn’t been kicked yet. They’ve had a lot of distrust around the place about where it’s going, so I’m going to try and find them some new superstars.”

That may sound like getting QPR running before they can crawl but if Sky was not the limit for Holloway, he wants his squad to aim for the very top too.