QPR will be aiming to bounce back from their heaviest-ever home league defeat when they visit Championship leaders Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
The Hoops went down 6-0 against second-placed Newcastle United, now just a point behind David Wagner’s men.
It spelled a nightmare Tuesday evening for former Town keeper Alex Smithies, while ex-Town centre-back Joel Lynch made his league debut for Rangers as a late substitute after recovering from an abdominal injury.
WATCH: QPR v Newcastle United match in 90 seconds, courtesy of the Chronicle
Loftus Road boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, whose team are 14th, said: “Newcastle are a good side and have a striker in (Alexander) Mitrovic who cost £15m. (Jonjo) Shelvey cost £12m, Matt Ritchie £11m – and I could go on.
“But I don’t want to make excuses. There were things that happened out there that I wasn’t happy with.”
He explained: “We were very stretched and it was easy for them to counter-attack us – and it’s very dangerous when they are able to do that.
“It was easy for them to get in behind us even though we were playing deep.
“It’s hard to take, but I must say that Newcastle are a great team with big players and you could see that.”
Barnsley are also a point behind Town after their 4-0 win at Wolves.
All the Reds’ goals, one of them scored by former Town man Adam Hammill, came after the 73-minute mark.
