WHEN Marti Cifuentes took over at QPR in late October he had to turn the tide – and quick.
The west London side were trapped in the Championship drop zone, with a mere eight points to their name, and in danger of sinking without trace. But, five months down the line, the Spaniard seems to be working his magic.
Rangers climbed out of the relegation places for the first time in Cifuentes’ reign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over basement dwellers Rotherham two weeks ago.
This vital victory formed part of a run which saw QPR go into yesterday’s clash with Middlesbrough having picked up ten points from a possible 12, a run that included a shock win at leaders Leicester last weekend.
Bullish
It would have been four straight maximums were it not for a combination of gallant West Brom defending and a hearty dose of bad luck on Wednesday.
In the end, the Hoops had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Carlos Corberan’s promotion-chasers on an emotional night in which tributes were paid to the late, great Stan Bowles, below.
Nonetheless, Cifuentes is in bullish mood ahead of what promises to be a nerve-jangling battle at the bottom of the Championship.
“The players are showing me they really want it,” said the 41-year-old, who arrived at Loftus Road from Swedish top-flight side Hammarby. “Since I’ve come here, we’ve matched teams at the top like we did this week, it’s so couraging. en- “We conceded two quick goals against West Brom but replied because there is a resilience to this team. Every single day I can see that, we were pushing right at the end -I think los was certainly
the happier man-Carager to come away with a draw.
“The fans have passionately stuck with us all the way, we had over 3,000 supporters up at Leicester. We are all in this together.”
Cifuentes made full use of his first January transfer win
