Ainsworth insists QPR players believe they can stay up

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth insisted his players believe they can avoid the drop despite their relegation worries worsening after a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich.

Rangers, ​who were ​top of the Championship in October, have slid down the table with an appalling run of just one win in 20 matches.

But Ainsworth is adamant that the players still feel confident they can keep the club up.

He said: “Of course they do. Without a shadow of a doubt they feel they can stay up.

“We’re not even below the line, and that’s important, but there are going to be twists and turns.

“The boys know exactly where they’ve been, sliding for quite a while now, and it’s about trying to address that slide and stopping the rot.”

Fellow strugglers Cardiff and Reading won at Watford and drew with Luton respectively, meaning Ainsworth’s side are now just one place and one point above the bottom three.

“We’d prefer those teams not to get results​,​ but it’s in our hands and that’s what I’ve been saying to the boys,” Ainsworth said.

“I think it’s going to go to the wire without a doubt. There are five or six teams there and we’re going to try to get as many points as we can to get out of this.

“We didn’t get beaten by a team that’s pushing for the play-offs, so I think it’s a good result. But we do need more points – I know that – and we’ve got to make sure we keep playing with the same attitude.

“The boys have given me everything and that’s all I can ask for. They were shattered and went down at the end thinking they could and should have won the game – which is a good sign for me.”

Lyndon Dykes’ ninth-minute goal put QPR ahead but Adam Idah, sent on as a half-time substitute, equalised in the first minute of the second half.