Queens Park Rangers chairman Flavio Briatore has described Jim Magilton as the 'stand-out candidate' after the former Northern Ireland international was named as the club's new manager on a two-year-contract.

40-year-old Magilton, who has been out of work since April after being sacked by Ipswich, succeeds Paolo Sousa in the R's hot-seat and will become, astonishingly, the club's seventh manager in three-and-a-half years and Briatore's fifth since his consortium seized control of the club in August 2007.

Under Briatore, John Gregory was sacked, Luigi De Canio left for personal reasons, Iain Dowie was sacked and Paulo Sousa had his contract terminated in April, with Magilton now taking over the 'poisoned chalice', charged with improving on last season's 11th place finish in the Championship.

"I'm really looking forward to the challenge of managing this great football club," Magilton told the club's official website.

"The board are highly ambitious, but they are very realistic at the same time. I have huge ambitions to achieve as a manager though, and our aim is to keep progressing, year after year.

"There is a very strong group of players at the club and with one or two additions over the summer, we can expect to be in a position to drastically improve upon the eleventh place finish secured last season."

And enigmatic chairman Briatore also expressed his delight at the appointment: "We (the board) sat down with him on four separate occasions to discuss our goals and ambitions and he has really impressed myself, co-owners Bernie Ecclestone and Lakshmi Mittal and vice-chairman Amit Bhatia with his knowledge, understanding and passion for football."