QPR boss responds to fan 'anger' ahead of Portsmouth clash as he makes 'not happy' admission

Queens Park Rangers manager Marti Cifuentes expressed his disappointment but urged his side to stick together following their 2-0 loss to Derby County - a result which left them without a win in five Championship games.

Up next for QPR is a clash with Pompey at Loftus Road on October 19. Pompey are two points behind the London outfit, with five points from their opening nine games. The Blues are the only Championship side without a win this campaign, having lost four and drawn five of their games so far. They are kept off the bottom by Cardiff City, who also have five points but a worse goal difference.

QPR head into the Championship clash having lost their last three games, with their defeat at Derby preceded by losses to Hull City and Blackburn Rovers. Cifuentes feels that it is taking his side longer to gel after a summer overhaul and sympathised with frustrated supporters.

Speaking in the aftermath of their defeat against Derby, the QPR manager said: “It’s not been good enough so far. When things are not going well, it’s very easy to point fingers. But the most important thing is how we react. Now we have an international break which is going to be tough for us, because we know we have two weeks of feeling bad about how we’ve done this week - in terms of results and performances.

“It’s a time we need to use properly to look at what is missing and what we are failing at currently. We have to make sure that we come back stronger, because it’s very disappointing - not only for the players and staff who are working hard, but also for the supporters. We had over 2,000 here today and I’m very sad that we couldn’t deliver a better performance and result.

“Now is a moment to stay together – as a club we made certain decisions in the summer in terms of the player profile, many signings arrived from other leagues, the club knew it could take time, it’s my job to make sure it works as soon as possible. We need to make sure we’re very clear on the things we must improve (during the international break), I’m very confident we’re going to improve. I understand the disappointment (from the fans); it’s right they’re angry at the moment because we lost in a bad performance.”

Portsmouth head into the international break on the back of a 1-1 draw with Oxford United at Fratton Park. The result went some way to banishing the memory of the 6-1 hammering at Stoke City last week.