Mark Warburton on what his side were lacking against Leeds United, how he rates the Championship and how to deal with the Marcelo Bielsa press

A little belief and a little more quality in the final third would have gone a long way for Mark Warburton's defeated Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road today.
Mark Warburton's men were beaten 2-0 at Elland Road (Pic: Getty)Mark Warburton's men were beaten 2-0 at Elland Road (Pic: Getty)
Mark Warburton's men were beaten 2-0 at Elland Road (Pic: Getty)

The R's lost 2-0 to Leeds United, who scored a goal late in each half.

But there was a moment in the second half that Warburton felt could have been pivotal and changed the course of the afternoon, had it gone the way of his side.

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He took issue, in his post match press conference, with a suggestion that QPR never really got going in the fixture.

"You come to Leeds, who are a team established in terms of the squad and their manager's philosophy, for the last x amount of months, to a very tough venue.

"The first half, you can ride your luck on a couple of occasions, likewise we lacked a bit of quality in the final third.

"We came out second half and showed some really good quality and it's [only] 1-0.

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"That ball comes in, it's a great ball in and it's just poor timing from Jordan [Hugill] who has had a great season so far - that goes in, you tell me. They're the fine margins, you put the ball in the net this place goes quiet.

"You're not going to come here and just dominate. Leeds are a very good team for a reason. We lacked a little bit of self belief but to say we never got going when it's 1-0 after 70 minutes and we missed a glorious chance, I'm not sure I can agree with that."

Warburton paid tribute to Leeds United and their status as a Championship heavyweight but stopped short of saying they were the rank favourites for the title, as several of his managerial peers in the division have done following encounters with the Whites.

"We've played some very good teams. I don't think there's a standout runaway performer this year. It's tight at the top. Had we won Monday night we'd have gone second. The league is very, very tight. It's going to be a long season.

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"There's no doubt about the quality, the squad that's been amassed here. It's a fantastic football theatre with an atmosphere that is a privilege sometimes to be involved with, but with that comes demand and expectation. You're not going to come here and have 70 per cent possession.

"You have to go away to some tough venues.

"It's a tough venue to come to. A very demanding, expectant crowd, 35, 40,000. They're an expensively assembled team I'm sure, I say that with respect, a big team within the division. You have to come here and take care of the football, try and take the heat out of the game.

"I think it'll go down to the wire again. there's no clear candidate for me. Leeds are another very good team."

What appeared to make life difficult for QPR was the relentless high press from the home side, led by centre forward Patrick Bamford.

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Leeds would harry their visitors, force them to go direct and then win the ball, staying on the front foot and keeping QPR penned in for long periods of the game.

Warburton insists that while the sight of the away team having to go backwards gives encouragement to the home support, the press is not impossible to deal with. QPR just didn't deal with it as well as he would have liked.

"We said we can go round it, ie over it.

"The first half our forwards didn't hold the ball up as they have done this season, second half they did much better and then you link with them.

"Or you can play through it, which again we did on occasions.

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"The crowd love it when they press and [you] play backwards, let the crowd cheer, no problem, keep the football. All the time they're pressing, they're working. Of course you're going to get the big cheer, fine no problem, go out the other side or go long, make sure you link up, get bodies around the receiving player.

"We lacked a little bit of self belief. You get that goal at 1-0 [down] you've got to believe. We needed belief from the first whistle.

"Just a bit of belief, bit of quality in the final third and they're the fine margins you deal with."