QPR defender Lynch hopes for better season

Joel Lynch feels the only way is up for QPR after their win over Nottingham Forest finally quashed fears of relegation to League One.

Rangers’ 2-0 victory ensured Championship safety in their penultimate match of the campaign, but they remain on course for their lowest league placing in a decade.

Centre-back Lynch, whose header followed Conor Washington’s opening goal against Forest at Loftus Road, said: “We’ll definitely improve – it can’t get any worse for us at the moment, we think.

“We’re in transition in terms of building our squad, but we’ve got a lot more in the tank and hopefully we’ll hit the ground running next season.

“It’s all about building, having a good summer and pre-season and working on the mistakes we’ve made. We’ve lost a lot of games by just one goal and we’ve been unlucky at times.

“We weren’t scoring the first goal and I think in the Championship the first goal is crucial – you don’t see many teams come back from one down.

“I think we’ve always been in games and that clinical edge is something we’ve got to work on going into next season, as well as being more solid at the back.”

Saturday’s victory ended Rangers’ miserable run of six straight defeats – their second such sequence since manager Ian Holloway returned to the club earlier this season.

A further loss against Forest, or even a draw, would have left QPR needing a result in their final game at Norwich this weekend to guarantee Championship status.

Lynch added: “We shouldn’t really have been in this situation but I felt we dealt with it really well, the gameplan worked and we played the occasion as well. I think that’s the best we’ve played in a while.

“I’ve played almost 350 games and it was nerve-racking for me. Obviously for the younger players in the team, like Ryan Manning, it was a completely new situation.

“The pressure’s off us at Norwich, so you might see something different. We can look forward to that game – we obviously want to get a good result and finish the season on a high but it’s all about next year for us.”