His return to the side saw him feature regularly under Neil Warnock until the manager was replaced in January 2012 by Mark Hughes. Under Hughes, Mackie continued to occupy a wide-midfield berth and featured in the victory against Wigan Athletic and the subsequent draw with Aston Villa. Replaced by Adel Taarabt (who returned from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations) for the game against Wolves which ended in defeat, he came off the bench in the 66th minute to replace Akos Buzsaky against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park with the score 3–0 to the home side. He scored twice to bring the score back to 3–2 and nearly grabbed an equaliser to push for a regular place in the side. Mackie came off the bench for Joey Barton in the home game against Liverpool to inspire a comeback from 2–0 down, scoring the winner in a 3–2 victory at Loftus Road. He also scored QPR's second goal in the final match of the 2011–12 Premier League season in a 3–2 loss to Manchester City, who were crowned Champions that day.
