Warburton insists Forest have the quality to stay up

Nottingham Forest boss Mark Warburton insisted his side have enough quality to stay in the Championship after a 2-0 defeat at QPR left them in serious danger of relegation.

Wins for fellow strugglers Blackburn and Birmingham left Forest one place above the drop zone, ahead of Blackburn only on goal difference.

It means the former European champions, who are at home to Ipswich next weekend, must at least match Blackburn’s final-day result in order to stay up – Rovers are away to Brentford.

Warburton said: “We had to expect other teams to win. We know what we have to do. We’re at home and our focus is now on preparing well and getting a good performance.

“It’s up to us. We’re at home, we can’t control what happens away from us, and we have enough quality.

“It’s an honest group of players we’ve got, I can’t question their work ethic, and I want them to get their rewards.

“They’re professionals. They know what’s involved. They have a responsibility to themselves, their families, the supporters and the club – we all do.”

Second-half goals from Conor Washington and former Forest defender Joel Lynch ended QPR’s six-game losing run and ensured the R’s will stay up.

Forest created a number of chances, particularly in the final 25 minutes, but were unable to find the net.

Warburton added: “We have been in it (danger) for a number of weeks now and every time they’ve played the players have had the talk of the threat of relegation and I’ve been saying they’re handling the pressure very well.

“But we’ve got to take our chances. We looked more desperate and hungry to score after we conceded and we had chances and didn’t take them.

“The game is about goals. You can have all the possession in the world but you have to take your chances when they come.”