Warburton bemoans his injury crisis
QPR manager Mark Warburton insisted naming just six substitutes was not an attempt to show the club’s board that new signings are needed as he side suffered a 2-0 defeat to Stoke City in the Championship.
Striker Lyndon Dykes and wing-backs Lee Wallace, Albert Adomah, Sam McCallum and Moses Odubajo are among those sidelined for injury-hit Rangers..
Warburton, who is keen to bring in reinforcements, said: “We’ve got a squad of 22. I couldn’t name all the subs today. That wasn’t a statement, it was just a fact. Simple as that.
“Injuries hurt today. We’ve lost four wing-backs and had six players out.
“We were light, but that’s the Championship and you have to deal with it.”
Rangers had scored in their previous 31 league games and were closing in on the club record of 33. But Austin’s miss from the spot proved costly.
“Players are human. No-one means to miss a penalty and Charlie had scored his last 15,” Warburton said. “We had a couple of really good chances after that. Those are the moments that define matches and we have to recognise that.
“I think you saw us try to force it in the second half. Don’t force it - we’ve got enough quality to keep moving the ball.
“In the first half we were moving the ball well - and when you move the ball well the opposing team is working constantly.
“When you shift them, so many times they make a mistake and you can capitalise on it. That’s what good teams do, but we stopped doing it.”
Meanwhile, Tosin Adarabioyo’s late equaliser kept Marco Silva’s Fulham side at the Championship summit after Dominic Solanke’s Cherries goal just seconds into the second half looked like sending the visitors two points clear.
Defender Adarabioyo headed home a cross from substitute Tom Cairney to ensure Fulham remained a point ahead from an often bad-tempered encounter.
“The one thing I didn’t like was we lost our focus,” said Silva. “Our backline slept, and we cannot concede like that at our level. I am really proud of the way we reacted. After conceding a sloppy, goal we pushed them back with 10 players around their box and we created chances and chances. At the end we score but it was clear we deserved more because we were the best team on the pitch.”