Queens Park Rangers have lost five in a row and could be without two centre backs to face Leicester City this weekend.
With Leicester City as their next opponent and the club’s downward trajectory showing no signs of slowing down, Queens Park Rangers manager Gareth Ainsworth has pledged to persevere.
The Rs suffered their fifth straight loss Friday night at West Brom, losing 2-0, and are now stuck in the bottom three. They will be missing Jake Clarke-Salter, who was substituted at halftime on medical staff’s suggestion, and Jimmy Dunne, the center back, who was sent out for two yellow cards.
“I know the fans are getting really frustrated – obviously a few songs and criticisms but that’s only understandable because they’ve come a long way.
“I think we had some good moments in the first half, some breakaway moments which were good. Second half we had a plan, we had a plan to ease the pressure. More forward, it’s very similar to last year what kept us up, Burnley and Stoke.
“You can’t do it with ten men and you can’t do it with giving penalties away, that’s tough.
“Listen, I will back the lads, I always will, and I’ll keep going. I’ll keep going. I’ll get them ready for Saturday now but we’re missing one or two, which is really, really going to be tough.
“It’s not effort, it’s not football tonight. It’s silly things that have cost us. It’s a little bit of naivety and obviously, we don’t work on those things in training to give penalties away, to get sent off. We work on a system with 11 men, we try to get things, try to introduce things later on. But it’s another defeat, I understand that, I know where the club is and I want to fight, get the club out of it.
“I know the frustrations of the fans and supporters all over the world make managers targets and sometimes they have to take flak. There’s pressure from day one because you get judged on results, but I don’t fear anything.”
Ainsworth admitted defender Dunne was naive for his quick-fire double caution. Dunne was booked for coming back onto the pitch too early then sent off two minutes later for allegedly marking the penalty spot after West Brom were awarded a spot-kick.
Brandon Thomas-Asante crashed home from the spot in the 59th minute before Grady Diangana tapped home the second eight minutes later.
“The penalty was given away in a crazy moment, and the red card was given in a crazy, more innocent moment,” Ainsworth went on. “The referee told me there was an incident with the West Brom player on the penalty spot when I spoke with him.
“Yes, 100%,” he replied when I questioned if he was positive it was the guy he recognized, which meant a second yellow was called. It is incredibly foolish if it is true. The first yellow was returning to the field too soon.
“You can accept being defeated by football, but it’s very naive when you lose a player to that, if it is that.”
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