‘Not good enough’ – Cifuentes left frustrated by how QPR ended Southampton defeat

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes was unhappy with how his side finished their 1-0 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.

A first-half goal from Taylor Harwood-Bellis ended a run of four games without a loss at Loftus Road, as Rangers were left in the Championship relegation zone after they failed to force an equaliser in the second period.

Their cause was helped by a red card shown to Southampton substitute Shea Charles in the 88th minute, but Cifuentes’ side’s best opportunities to draw level had come and gone by then.

“The last minutes when they got the red card were not good enough,” said the Spaniard. “Overall, a positive performance but when you lose you can never be satisfied.

“I don’t spend time looking at the table, but I know that it’s there and for the players that started the season is not easy mentally for them to isolate and play those minutes without anxiety to know that they need to win and get points.

“I want to make sure that we look more at the performance, today was a good performance against a very good team but obviously it is something that we need to understand.

“The games are won and lost when the referee whistles [for full time]. We need to calm down this anxiety and it doesn’t matter how much we need to risk [to get back into the game] or our positioning, it is about the mental approach to the situation that we need to improve.”

Cifuentes was without defender Steve Cook after he picked up a muscular injury late on in the defeat at Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, and Chris Willock had to be taken off midway through the second half against Southampton after taking a knock to the ankle.

The creative midfielder is set to be assessed ahead of the Boxing Day trip to Millwall, but the QPR boss did not rule out either player in terms of featuring at the Den.

PICTURE: ROB AVIS