Stephan defiant after heavy QPR defeat
Julien Stephan insisted QPR matched Ipswich for much of the game despite losing 4-1 at Loftus Road.
Rangers have now lost three of their past four matches – and have won just two of their past 12 at home in the Championship.
They conceded a goal in the opening couple of minutes of both halves against Ipswich, who took an early lead through George Hirst’s header before Rumarn Burrell equalised.
Marcelino Nunez restored the visitors’ lead with a free-kick at the start of the second half, and Hirst scored again before Nunez also netted his second – another free-kick – to seal a resounding Ipswich win.
“One goal in the first minute of the first half and then one goal in the first minute of the second half. Mentally it’s difficult after that,” said Stephan.
But the Frenchman defiantly argued that Rangers looked strong, bar a second-half spell in which Ipswich scored three times in the space of 17 minutes.
He said: “I enjoyed the reaction after their goal in the first half and at half-time I said to the players that we were in the game and that I felt that we could do something.
“But the second goal, how we conceded that, I think it killed us mentally. And in the 20 to 25 minutes after that it was not good and they were better than us.
“But, during 60 minutes, my feeling is that we were very close. In the end, it was a question of consistency, and we were not consistent enough.
“In our good period we were collectively and defensively very strong. But Ipswich were clinical, it was the difference between them and us, and we have to correct mistakes.”
John Goodenough 
BiroBiro 
angryoap 
03/11/2025 @ 8:49 am
I dont understand where he gets being close comes from.
we kept giving the ball away team selection was awful again and subs should have been made earlier.
02/11/2025 @ 12:53 pm
Excuses Excuses. The thing is we should have been a lot better especilly with the talent we have, and there is a lot of talent there in the QPR players.
02/11/2025 @ 11:08 am
Time for this to be over already. Stephan, was never the man to take us further & with reinforcements brought in, so much more should be happening. I’ve never rated him & on evidence so far, he doesn’t deserve to be rated either. Don’t forget that it was claimed just prior to this game that he had a full squad to choose from, so you end up losing 4-1 at home too?
Time after time, when losing, he gives the same comments & this time it’s ‘were were close’ but NO WE WEREN’T!
Firstly, schoolboy defending isn’t what Ipswich did throughout. 2 free kicks where both could have been saved if the keeper was better positioned & the defending for crosses was shambolic! If this is us being close, we’ll win the league easily!
02/11/2025 @ 10:39 am
Lets not beat about the bush here, Nardi is our weakest link, has been for ages now. he seems to have stopped falling over at every opportunity, but his positioning awareness is non existant. Roll on January transfer window.