On 16 May 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II, he joined Queens Park Rangers as a player and on 29 April 1944 was offered the player-manager role. Although initially reluctant to take it on, he did so, and he built a team that in the 1947–48 season, with George Smith as captain, won the Third Division South championship by four points to give QPR their first-ever promotion. After four tough seasons in the Second Division they were relegated back to the Third Division, where they were to remain for fifteen seasons before Alec Stock led them to promotion again.