Saturday 14 March 2015 21:40, UK
QPR manager Chris Ramsey says his side still believe they can avoid relegation despite losing 3-1 to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Wilfried Zaha, James McArthur and Joel Ward all netted in the first half for Palace as they dominated the disappointing visitors at Selhurst Park.
Matt Phillips struck a goal of the season contender late in the game but it was nothing more than a consolation for relegation-threatened QPR.
“The opportunity for me was to come in and try the best to turn things around," said Ramsey.
"The squad is the squad, we're going to work with the players that we've got. I am hoping nine games is enough, that's all that I've got, so we'll go for it as best we can.
"The players believe in it. The players downstairs are disappointed, they're not bickering and moaning at each other.
"Some people are disappointed and some people are obviously voicing their opinions about how disappointed they are, but they're still unified, as you'll find. They're still unified in what we're trying to do and all we can do really is to keep fighting."
After a poor first-half display, QPR did improve slightly after the break but they were unable to salvage anything from the match.
“I am very disappointed," said Ramsey. “We had a spell where we could, at least after the first goal, have stopped the flow and stopped the tide.
The players believe in it. The players downstairs are disappointed, they're not bickering and moaning at each other.
"There's nothing to explain it, apart from that we're in this position because of those key moments. We really need to do better in those situations."
The visitors' only highlight on a miserable afternoon in south London was Phillips' outstanding long-range strike.
Just as the match was petering out, the winger took aim and rifled past Eagles goalkeeper Julian Speroni from 43 yards, earning applause from both sets of fans.
"To be honest with you, it was a great strike but a tap-in or a 40-yarder, it made no difference," Ramsey said.
"Two of their goals were tap-ins and I'd rather have two tap-ins than one of those."
