Hasselbaink pleased for Washington after first QPR goal

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said he was pleased for Conor Washington after the striker finally scored his first QPR goal.

Washington, signed from Peterborough in January, headed in with his first touch after coming on as a substitute in Rangers’ 2-0 win against Watford at Loftus Road, where Sebastian Polter also netted.

“I’m very pleased for Conor – very happy,” said boss Hasselbaink, whose team will start their Championship season against Leeds next weekend.

“He’s a goalscorer but I’ve asked him to do a little bit more. He’s now playing in the Championship and needs to do other things as well.

“He is trying and he is improving. Goals will help him and I’m pleased that he’s got that one off his shoulder.”

However, Washington faces competition for a place in the Rangers side.

The club are keen to sign Iceland forward Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, who will compete with Polter for the role of target man if he moves to west London.

And Hasselbaink is reluctant to deploy Washington in a wide role in order to accommodate him.

The Dutchman explained: “If you’re going to put them on the wing then it has to be for the right reasons at the right time.

“You also don’t want to take too much away from him. We want him to play as much as possible to his strengths.

“He’s competing against other strikers and that’s normal. Competition should bring the best out of him and when he gets his chance he needs to keep it.”

‘More positive’

Rangers’ performance in the final friendly of their pre-season campaign was a marked improvement on their display at Burton on Tuesday.

“It was more positive than Burton. We looked good together and the organisation was vital,” Hasselbaink said.

“It was very positive, but let’s not carried away. There’s still work to be done and we can still get stronger.

“I want to make sure that even when we don’t have the ball we control and dictate.”