QUIET REVOLUTION
R’s boss Warburton warns: Ignore all the noise about promotion
MARK WARBURTON’S Queens Park Rangers revolution is on a roll but the boss is determined to keep a lid on their growing expectations.
If Championship leaders Fulham have been racking up tennis scores of late, yesterday it was the turn of their west London neighbours to produce their own goal spree.
R’s ripped Reading to shreds with Lyndon Dykes’ double, a beauty from Luke Amos plus Jimmy Dunne’s strike making it five wins in a six-game unbeaten run.
But Warburton, whose Hoops are just two points off automatic promotion, later urged calm, insisting: “You have to ignore all the noise – never get too high, never get too low. There’s 18 games left.
“That’s 54 points to play for.
It sounds boring but this is the Championship.”
Opposite number Veljko Paunovic would love such a problem after fuming Royal fans chanted: “You’re getting sacked in the morning”.
The Serbian, who took charge in August 2020, is in deep trouble following this seventh defeat in eight outings.
Royals chief Paunovic said: “It’s understandable but difficult and hard to hear when you’re trying your best to fix things.
“Managers are always questioned. It’s normal. I don’t necessarily accept it but I can handle it.”
On paper, this always looked a home banker – given high-flying Rangers had taken a sensational 13 points from the previous 15. Stats,
of course, mean only so much as the hosts discovered during Tuesday’s goalless draw here against struggling Swansea.
And Reading, two points above the danger zone, almost struck
first, George Puscas firing a half-volley over David
Marshall’s bar.
Had their vociferous appeals for a 13th-minute penalty been answered, a decent opening might have turned into a superb afternoon. Instead, the Hoops, having survived that close call, raced up the other end to break the deadlock.
Silky Chris Willock was the architect with a pin-point centre just begging to be powered in. Dykes gratefully accepted. Luke Southwood’s low save denied the Scottish striker a second before Amos rattled a post. Rangers clearly wanted another goal to take into half-time.
Well, for good measure, they grabbed two.
And Dykes’ deflected header, the Scot’s ninth of the season, made it 2-0. Then, Amos curled in his cracker off the underside of the bar.
Game over, yes, but Rangers were not quite finished as defender Dunne completed the rout on 50 minutes.
A deflated Paunovic said: “It wasn’t good enough.
“There are no excuses, definitely. Defensively we were not good and offensively we were also poor.”
Marshall 7; Dickie 7, Dunne 7, Barbet 7; Adomah 8, Field 7, Johansen 7, Wallace 8 (Sanderson 66, 7); Willock 9 (Auston 71, 7), Amos 8 (Thomas 66, 7) ; Dykes 8 Subs not used: Austin, Ball, Dozzell, Odubajo, Walsh.
Southwood 5; Yiadom 5, Holmes 5; Morrison 5, Baba 4; Drinkwater 5, Laurent 6 (Dele-Bashiru 56, 6); Rinomhota 5, Swift 5, Puscas 6 (Ejaria 46, 6); Joao 6. Subs not used: Hein, Camara, Clarke, Ashcroft, Abrefa.
Chris Willock. QPR playmaker was at the heart of promotion-chasers’ romp,