Steve McClaren was full of praise for his QPR players after seeing them secure a historic 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest – their first-ever win at the City Ground.
In 34 previous meetings at the stadium between the two sides, stretching back to 1934, QPR had suffered 20 defeats while collecting 14 draws.
But Toni Leistner helped them end that miserable run as he headed home just before half-time.
QPR goalkeeper Joe Lumley produced a stunning late save to tip a spectacular effort from Adlene Guedioura on to the bar as Rangers held on for another big win to follow on from their success against Middlesbrough last weekend.
It came after Forest’s former R’s defender Jack Robinson had suggested that the Reds were capable of ‘blowing QPR away’. The comment was greeted with some anger by Rangers fans on social media.
“We all know the history. We know that this is a tough place to come and a very good Forest team, but I thought the players were magnificent,” said McClaren.
“It was an unbelievable result for us and I’m so proud of the players. It was a win against a very, very good team.
“All you ask for is for a solid performance, and for the players to work for each other and be competitive. We are seeing that. If you do that, you will win eight games out of 10 and probably draw one and lose one beyond that.
“In the last few weeks, against some good teams, we have defended so well. Joe Lumley made a great save that got us the points, but it was a great team effort which got us the points.”
McClaren, who had a short spell as Forest manager, believes QPR’s strength comes from their togetherness as a team.
“There was not one outstanding individual,” he said. “Everyone did their jobs.
“If you do your job you have a chance of winning. Aside from that save we did not look to be in too much danger.
“We are just going one game at a time. I don’t know exactly how far this team can go, but you don’t want to waste good results like this one. I think we deserved it.”