Iain Dowie's long-term future as Queens Park Rangers manager appears in serious doubt today after a row with chairman Flavio Briatore.

It is expected that Dowie will be in charge for Rangers' opening game of the season against Barnsley on Saturday but the club are believed to be searching for a replacement in case Briatore and Dowie are unable to hammer out their differences.

When contacted by Standard Sport this morning, Dowie - who has been in charge for just 85 days - claimed that reports he was about to be sacked were "hogwash" and "a load of rubbish" but he declined to confirm categorically that he would still be in charge on Saturday.

Rangers also sought to play down the rumours, insisting it was "business as normal", but it is understood there has been tension between Dowie and the club's top brass since he took the reins on 14 May following the sacking of Luigi De Canio six days earlier.

The club's underwhelming preseason has not helped. Briatore is said to have been less than impressed by Rangers' progress in a summer campaign which culminated in Dowie's team being defeated 2-1 by Italian club Chievo in a friendly at Loftus Road last Saturday.

Dowie is believed to be keen to bring his elder brother, Bob, to Loftus Road after the pair worked together at Crystal Palace between 2003 and 2006, when Bob was director of football and largely responsible for transfer negotiations.

He was also a member of his younger brother's backroom team, working as chief scout, when Dowie was in charge at Coventry, but Bob has yet to move to Rangers - although fitness coach John Harbin and assistant manager Tim Flowers followed Dowie to Loftus Road from the Ricoh Arena. Even thoughDowie continues to insist that the summer signings are his and his alone, it is believed that Briatore and former chairman Gianni Paladini, who now has the title of sporting director, have been the driving force behind the majority of them.

Italian midfielder Matteo Alberti was signed from Chievo eight days before Dowie was confirmed as manager, while his compatriot Samuel Di Carmine - on a seasonlong loan from Fiorentina - was recommended to Rangers by former coach De Canio.

In Italian sporting culture, a football coach often has little to do with buying and selling players and is expected simply to focus on training and tactics, while the club hierarchy control transfer policy.

De Canio was happy to play by these rules during his seven months at Loftus Road, leaving Paladini to do the wheeling and dealing.

But Dowie insisted at his first press conference that he would be the one responsible for identifying transfer targets - and it is understood he is unhappy at not being given the sole say over which players are bought.

He remains keen to sign Ben Watson from Palace and Rangers had a £1.75million bid for the 23-year-old midfielder rejected last month. But the chances of Watson moving across London appear to have decreased after Briatore persuaded Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon to allow Rangers to sign Madrid's 19-year-old midfield prodigy Dani Parejo on a seasonlong loan deal.

Ever since he took charge at QPR, the extent of Dowie's influence at the club has been the subject of frequent speculation.

The 43-year-old did superbly to lead Crystal Palace to promotion in 2004, but subsequent sackings by Charlton and Coventry saw his stock fall dramatically.

There has even been talk that Dowie will be handed a £1million pay-off and replaced by a more high-profile boss should he take Rangers into the Premier League - something the former West Ham striker insists has never been mentioned to him.