New-look Hoops won’t roll over this time, says Ismael

WATFORD boss Valerien Ismael has happy memories of facing QPR.

And little wonder after his first match in charge of the Hornets saw his side put the Hoops to the sword with a 4-0 drubbing on the opening day of the season.

But the French manager, 48, has warned against complacency when his charges head to the strugglers this lunchtime.

That curtain-raiser rout was Watford’s first victory over QPR in the league since 2010 and they are bidding to do the double for the first time since 2006.

“They are not the same QPR,” said Ismael.

“They’ve changed their manager so it’s another team.

“We have more certainty now in our games as well. We compete with all of the teams in the Championship.

“Now it is about the consistency to get the points as all the teams have quality.

“It’s all about which teams have the consistency on the run-in that will put you in a great position.”

Marti Cifuentes took over at Loftus Road at the end of October but the new manager bounce already looks to be over with just two points from their last six league games.

And, worryingly, goal-shy Rangers have scored just two goals in their last 557 minutes of league football.

But with a new CEO being appointed on Friday in Christian Nourry, hopes for a change in fortunes on the pitch are also high.

Defender Sinclair Armstrong said: “We know we are on a poor run of form.

“We can only hold ourselves accountable. There is no one else to blame.

“We’re conceding sloppy goals. We need to keep working hard to get out of the position we’re in.”