QPR manager Mark Hughes wants his squad to help themselves against Everton on Saturday by ensuring they keep 11 men on the pitch.
Rs boss eager for all 11 men to stay on the pitch
QPR manager Mark Hughes wants his squad to help themselves against Everton on Saturday by ensuring they keep 11 men on the pitch.
The West Londoners have been the architects of their own downfall having dropped 13 points from winning positions at Loftus Road this season and had five players sent off at home, three in their last four fixtures.
Samba Diakite was sent off last time out as QPR suffered a 1-0 defeat to Fulham on home soil and Hughes is acutely aware of the importance of not having a man dismissed in England's top flight.
Three consecutive Premier League defeats mean Hughes' troops are level on points with third-from-bottom Blackburn, although the former Fulham boss believes they have the quality to stay up.
Difficulty
"We haven't helped ourselves because we haven't managed to keep 11 players on the field and that has hurt us in too many games," commented Hughes.
"In three of the last four home games we have gone down to 10 men and it is very difficult to overcome those differences at Premier League level.
"We want to keep 11 on the field of play, that will help us significantly. We need to start getting points on the board.
"I remain convinced we have enough quality in the club to stay up. We have to make sure we emphasise that fact by getting the points on the board.
"We need to be competitive in the league but we need to keep people on the field of play. If we do that in our home games we will pick up more than enough points."
