It’s fair to say that Queens Park Rangers have had a very challenging season so far, with manager Gareth Ainsworth getting sacked after 14 league matches.
Up until his departure, the West London outfit had won just two matches and, despite it being so early in the season, were set up perfectly for a gruelling relegation dogfight.
But after picking up some more positive results under new head coach Marti Cifuentes, the R’s are right back in contention to avoid relegation to League One, which if they were to go down, would be a catastrophic situation for a club that had hopes of being promoted to the Premier League not so long ago.
In this piece, The Real EFL shall look at three different reasons why Cifuentes’ men can keep their EFL Championship status next season as the side have merely 13 cup finals left. With just one point between them and safety, QPR will be desperate to avoid the drop late on in the season, just like they did last campaign.
We know you wanted to see this again ⏪
Some goal it would’ve been 🤤 pic.twitter.com/CwBmMK1bzo
— QPR FC (@QPR) February 18, 2024
1. Quality Of Squad
When looking at the composition of the squad, it is somewhat surprising that QPR are in the situation that they are in, with the right mix of vastly experienced leaders to exciting, creative, attacking stars who are way too good for the bottom three of the Championship.
It wasn’t too long ago that Premier League and higher-status Championship clubs were looking to snap up forward Joe Willock as well as Moroccan midfielder Ilias Chair, players who were pivotal to Rangers’ storming start to last season, which propelled them to the top of the league. You get the feeling that if these two, along with Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes, are able to find form in front of goal in the last few matches, they have the firepower to drag the team away from relegation trouble.
Importantly, Queens Park Rangers also have a vast amount of experience within their ranks going into the final stretch of the season. Journeyman goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and central defender Steve Cook possess over 850 career appearances between them, their leadership and experience should come as a massive boost heading into the final months of the season. The signing of midfielder Issac Hayden on loan from Premier League outfit Newcastle United also adds top-flight know-how to this QPR side, who on paper really should have enough quality to draw clear of relegation.
2. Current Form
As we all know by now, late runs of good form can be the difference in the EFL at both ends of the table, with the final 15-game stretch the perfect time to put a few positive results together as there are not many games for rivals in around you to catch up.
Rangers’ impressive away victory at Bristol City was the perfect way to put their disappointing defeat at Stoke three days prior behind them and also meant that Cifuentes’ side had only suffered one defeat in their last five matches. By keeping this sort of form up in their last thirteen matches, they will be nowhere near the bottom three by the end of the campaign. This current positive spell sees the R’s eighth in the form table, with hopes that they are kicking into gear just at the right time as they look to avoid relegation.
With fellow strugglers Millwall, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday all significantly below QPR based on their current form after the last six matches, it is a great chance for Cifuentes and his side to create a nice gap between them over the coming fixtures as results have picked up of late, with other relegation rivals struggling to pick up many points of late, particularly Millwall, who just sit one point and one place above Queens Park Rangers.
3. Home Record
Since Cifuentes joined the club in late October, results have really started to turn for Queens Park Rangers on their own patch. Having played ten matches at Loftus Road since the Spaniard arrived, they have only lost three matches. For context, under Ainsworth, QPR lost five matches at home in the opening three months of the season, including some very heavy defeats in there too.
With relegation rivals Rotherham United and Sheffield Wednesday still yet to come to West London this season, Rangers will be looking to pick up maximum points in both fixtures, with back-to-back victories in crucial six-pointers potentially proving to be a major turning point for the relegation picture. Rangers need a maximum of six wins from their last 13 to stay up, so victories at home will be pivotal.