Pressure building on QPR head coach after Sunderland deepen Loftus Road gloom
QPR head coach Neil Critchley says his side “pressed the self-destruct button” during their 3-0 defeat at home to Sunderland on Tuesday evening.
Sunderland took the lead in the 34th minute after Seny Dieng dropped a header from Daniel Ballard and Luke O’Nien reacted quickest to poke the ball over the line.
QPR were awarded a penalty in the second half after Aji Alese had been penalised for handball. But Moroccan playmaker Ilias Chair saw his effort saved by Black Cats keeper Anthony Patterson.
Jack Clarke scored twice in the final eight minutes of the game to secure all three points for Tony Mowbray’s side.
Rangers have only won once in their last 16 outings in all competitions and are 17th in the Championship table.
The pressure is building on Critchley, whose only win since joining the west Londoners on December 11 came in a 1-0 win at Preston that same month.
“I was pleased with the first 20 minutes (against Sunderland) – we started on the front foot,” said the ex-Aston Villa assistant and Blackpool boss, 44. “There were no nerves and we played good football – we controlled the game.
“We had one or two moments around their goal, but they came back into the game and it was even. We then pushed the self-destruct button again.
“We gave away a needless goal – really cheap goal.
“It means you’re chasing the game. We came out and took the game to them again in the second half. We played with real energy in the first 20 minutes but the big turning point is the penalty. If we score that, maybe the game is different.
“They score a second where we should have defended better – that’s the way it’s going for us.
“We have got to keep the ball out of the back of the net better. We need to stamp it out.
“The players are really down. It’s a tough moment that we’re in as a football club. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror.
“We have a choice to make. We can either blame ourselves and make excuses, or we can accept responsibility for our own actions and what it is we need to improve.”
PICTURES: ROB AVIS
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