Luigi De Canio believes Queens Park Rangers will have to abandon Loftus Road if they want to become one of the top clubs in the country. With the backing of Formula One entrepreneurs Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, as well as billionaire Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, Rangers can reasonably claim to be the world's richest club.

Briatore is keen to establish QPR as a Premier League side within four years - and manager De Canio knows that could mean the west Londoners outgrowing the stadium which has been their home since 1917.

De Canio said: "If QPR were to reach the goals which the directors have set, the idea of a more spacious and comfortable stadium would be guaranteed. I hope we will be playing in the Champions League in four years' time, and I hope I will still be here to experience it first-hand."

Rangers have an outside chance of reaching the Championship play-offs this term, but it is next season when they are expected to be one of the favourites for promotion.

Briatore and Ecclestone will flex their financial muscles during the summer transfer market, with De Canio indicating that the further Rangers progress, the more the wealthy duo will be prepared to spend.

The former Udinese and Napoli manager added: "We will certainly make signings in the summer, but it will be done carefully, which was what happened during the January transfer window.

"But that doesn't take away the fact that, if we move up a division, Briatore and his associates are prepared to make investments of a certain consistency, including for players who play abroad.

"The owners of QPR are very, very rich, but they took over the club with the idea of making steady progress, not of throwing money out of the window.

"This season, we are happy to avoid relegation, as we were in a poor position when I took over in October. We will think about promotion next season, because at the moment there are a number of strong teams who have many more points than we do."

De Canio believes English football compares favourably with the game in Italy, but suggests that teams here are not as tactically well-prepared as they are in his homeland.

He added: "There is a genuine passion for football in England, but without the levels of exasperation that exist in Italy, where too often the only thing that counts is winning.

"The referees here are calmer, and they speak to the players more. Of course, they make mistakes, yet they are not criticised as heavily as they are in Italy.

"The managers here are good, but in training they concern themselves less with tactics than Italians would.

In Italy, the managers are given more of a rounded preparation for the job, which includes knowledge of psychology and tactics."