Managing minutes and threat on the transition: QPR preview
The confirmation of the inevitable administration season relegation. The Valentine’s Day thrashing which was the John Eustace era’s nightmare start. And, ugh, Bobby Zamora.
Queens Park Rangers have not been the kindest of opponents for Derby in recent years. While demons were banished when Jaydon Banel kept the Rams’ play-off hopes alive with a stunning 88th minute winner back in April, Eustace’s mind is focused firmly on the job at hand. He said: “we’re in a different position now, different team, different squad”.
A sold-out away end will back the Rams in their pursuit of just their second win of the season. Julien Stéphan’s side meanwhile, have lost just once. Inside the play-off places on goal difference, the Rs are also winless in five games, though they have drawn their last four against the likes of West Brom and West Ham, where goalkeeper Pierce Charles saved Jarrod Bowen’s stoppage time penalty on Friday night.
QPR will hope to carry forward that momentum and consolidate a top eight position. Derby too have positives to build upon after Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Wrexham. And John Eustace remained upbeat about the performance despite the Monday afternoon drizzle that had descended on Moor Farm.
He said: “I thought it was a real solid performance, a real tough championship game. I thought we matched a really good team and on another day, we could have easily come away with the three points.”
And in “massively positive” news, his squad got through the match unscathed. Building fitness and managing minutes is still a focus, hence Mo Fuseini’s substitution after “cramping up on that 60-minute mark”. With a goal and an assist in his last two appearances, Eustace believes that the pacey forward can make a big impact on Wednesday too.
He said: “I think he'll be given lots of space to go and transition into away from home. We've still got to look at that as well. But he's a really exciting player that we're really happy to have in the group.”
Derby rank in the 83rd percentile for ‘counter attack shots’ this season. It is probably their most striking attacking statistic. And the Rams boss thinks that this could be even more vital on the road. He said: “I think so. It's really important that we're clinical as well. We've got to be clinical in both boxes.
“So, we could have got a couple more goals on Saturday, for sure, and previously. So, it's something that I think we've always had in our armoury of the clubs I've been at. We want to be able to transition on teams as well as play through teams as well.”
Indeed, if this Derby side are to build on the Wrexham performance and feel “more like a team from last season”, as Eustace says is the goal, it will be through combining a disciplined out of possession shape and becoming a well-oiled transitional machine with the ball.
QPR
Frenchman Julien Stéphan is now in his second season in charge at Loftus Road, after an up-and-down first campaign. After a tough start, defeat at Pride Park ended a good run which saw them in play-off contention. An upturn in form in the lead up to Christmas was counteracted by a tough winter before the finished the season with a six-game winless run.
Eustace knows two of their biggest names well. He worked with captain Jimmy Dunne and Moroccan midfield magician Ilias Chair while he was a first team coach under Mark Warburton. While Chair’s return from injury is doubtful, the Hoops’ side are much more than a one-man team, particularly after an eye-catching summer window.
Ghanaian full back Tariq Lamptey was their most high-profile arrival, joining on a free transfer from Fiorentina an ill-fated year in Italy. But the former Chelsea youngster previously made over 100 appearances for Brighton, including playing in the Europa League, and is still just 26.
Latvian left back Dennis Cirkin was an important figure in Sunderland’s Premier League promotion a couple of years ago and reportedly had interest across the Championship. The 24-year-old will be able to return to the side following a one-match ban. Also added to their ranks are former Rangers and Leeds midfielder Glen Kamara and the aforementioned Pierce Charles, who is widely seen as one of the most exciting goalkeeping prospects in the EFL.
Stéphan tends to line his side up in a 4-4-2 with one striker slightly deeper dependent on personnel but opted for a 4-3-3 last time out. While they have often dominated the ball at home this season, which will suit Derby, their three league victories have all come when having a minority of possession.
Considering that Eustace intends for the Rams to play on the counter, something will surely have to give.
Comments