Dreams of the play offs took an almighty battering in the last two games which has left QPR fans scratching their heads as to what is next.
A midweek cup tie against Sunderland would seem like a great opportunity to forget the travails in the Championship and get back into the swing of things however Rangers’ cup form is abysmal.
What really matters is the home game against Birmingham on Saturday. Confidence is understandably low following the heaviest home league defeat in the club’s history against Newcastle and the footballing lesson given by Huddersfield last time out.
Talk on the terraces and in the bars around Uxbridge Road have called for the R’s manager to play two strikers especially with the triumvirate of Polter, Washington and Sylla at Hasselbaink’s disposal.
This could also help with the club’s over reliance on set pieces to get on the scoreboard this season and fortunately new arrival Sylla looks to be bedding in nicely at Loftus Road as some have made comparisons with dear Sir Les and thunder thighed Hasselbaink.
“He’s not me; but he likes crosses. He’s a team player who scores a lot with his head - like Les. But he’s not as powerful as Les was. We have to improve him,” said the Dutchman.
“I am happy Sylla got his first goal for the club and he was unlucky not to have scored more goals against Huddersfield bar some good defending. He is getting accustomed to the English game and has the quality to bolster our attacking options. We need to be patient and give the lad time being in a new country, a new league and club. He has a wise head on his shoulders and will improve as he gets more game time.”
Improvements it seems are needed right across the board at QPR after two consecutive defeats and Hasselbaink is fully aware of what is needed.
“We need to lift ourselves and it is only us who can fix it. The group is good and there is no problem for us. What we need to do is go back to base number one and work from there. If we had got back to 2-2, even with bad play, it would have been a point. Going forward we must help each other. That is what we need to do now,” added the R’s boss.
The performance was not the one we expected. We were second best and I didn't get the reaction that I thought we would have.
"We are in a difficult period, because of the the result the other day. It came as a good punch in the head, and when you're not used to losing that type of numbers - it hurts."
It is best if you forget the cup game on Wednesday night and focus all of your positive energy on the weekend fixture as the result against Birmingham will dictate the club’s form going into October.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.
