Kane is more than able, says QPR boss

Mark Warburton reckons his wing-backs offered further hints of a bright future for QPR with their performances in the derby at Fulham on Friday, writes Yann Tear.

Although Rangers were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline, their boss took bags of encouragement from the way Todd Kane and Ryan Manning played.

Former Chelsea man Kane, in particular, gave a good account of himself, considering he has not been an automatic first choice this season.

He gave Fulham’s Joe Bryan a torrid first half and whipped in many dangerous crosses from which Rangers should have cashed in.

“A lot of players need runs in the team,” said the Hoops manager.

“The trouble when a player gets dipped in and dipped out is they don’t really find their rhythm of playing and I think that applies especially to Todd.

“But Todd was very good. He gives us real energy on the right hand side, so you’ve got Todd, you’ve got Ryan Manning, another young player on the left hand side getting forward, you’ve got Dom Ball [in the middle] playing a very unassuming role, up against a high quality squad with Premier League and international experience, and they’ve shown you the hope of how good they can be.”

With Rangers due in action last night against Nottingham Forest – where they were looking for a first win in six matches – Warburton had another reason to be cheerful going into the match: the performance of Lee Wallace.

Because of injury, it was only the Scot’s third appearance in a Rangers shirt following a summer move south of the border, and he looked assured.

“Lee Wallace was outstanding,” Warburton said. “I don’t think he put a foot wrong. I thought he tackled what he was up against, used the ball wisely.

“To have that length of break that he had and after playing his first game at Leeds out of position, I thought he showed outstanding qualities.

I’m pleased for him to get his match days back again and pleased supporters can see what a good player he is.”

The Rangers boss described the derby defeat at Craven Cottage as “very frustrating”.

He said: “We know the quality within the Fulham squad, we know how they dominate teams in possession. “We had to be brave and I think you saw us being brave.

“We got the early goal and created chance after chance. Against a very high quality team, we matched possession, had more chances, more crosses and shots.

“I think our young players really stepped up tonight and it was so frustrating to not get their rewards. Even if we’d left with a point, I’d be frustrated.”