Cifuentes insists QPR not safe from relegation despite Oxford win

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes does not yet think his side are guaranteed Championship survival following their win against relegation rivals Oxford United.

A 3-1 victory at the Kassam Stadium has left Rangers seven points clear of the drop zone with just five games remaining.

However, Cifuentes is not yet taking anything for granted after going almost two months without a win.

He said: “I’m very happy about the performance, about the result and for the fans who came here. Hopefully they can be happy about the result, but the job is not done.

“Yesterday I received a lot of messages about how unlucky we are with Luton scoring in the last minute [in a 1-1 draw at Stoke] and Cardiff scoring in the last minute [in a 2-2 draw at Preston].

“I saw today’s game as an opportunity to increase the distance [to the relegation zone] by two points and that’s exactly what the team did. We need to keep pushing, there’s five games left.”

QPR established a healthy two-goal lead in Oxfordshire through a Ronnie Edwards header and an own goal from Ole Romeney but came under pressure when Oxford substitute Stan Mills pulled a goal back midway through the second half.

Yang Min-hyeok’s injury-time strike secured a first win in seven matches for Rangers.  Cifuentes was shown a yellow card for running down the touchline with assistant Xavi Calm to celebrate with his players.

“I’ve been struggling with my calf and I think I pulled it again,” he joked. “There’s been a lot of emotions over the last weeks, it’s been very difficult.

“That’s why we celebrated with all the team. It’s a good summary of how this group is.

“It (the yellow card) was well deserved because my pace was terrible.”