Hasselbaink Blames Tiredness

QPR fell to a second consecutive league defeat after a 2-0 loss against Preston North End. Manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink blamed tiredness of the squad as a reason for the defeat.

The team were involved in a rollercoaster ride with Barnsley only a few days ago. The 3-2 game ended in a loss for QPR and this brought their winning run at the start of the season to an end. After starting out the new campaign with a view of promotion to the Premier League, QPR will have to rebuild the lost confidence from the start.

Even though the home team had the better of the statistics by having more possession and more shots on target, they were unable to make a major impact on the game. Former Everton striker Jermaine Beckford opened the scoring within the opening 25 minutes. Defender Onuoha’s own goal in the 52nd minute seemed to be the final straw for the home team, as they never appeared to come back into the game.

Hasselbaink will be aware that the team cannot afford anymore slipups and they need to come back to form quickly. QPR are up against Rochdale in the League Cup on Tuesday night followed by an away match against Wigan Athletic.
Hasselbaink also criticised the individual errors committed by the team.

“You have to give Preston credit. They did well, put us on the back foot and we looked flat. We looked like we had 24 hours less to recover. It looked a big ask. When you have a big squad it doesn’t matter, but when you don’t then it does. As as a group, we expected more and wanted more but couldn’t deliver. We didn’t look like us. Individual errors cost us. But we are a team – we lose together and we win together,” said Hasselbaink.