The players brought in at QPR over the next few weeks could define the club’s season according to new boss Steve McClaren after a 1-0 defeat to Preston.
Rangers will be unable to make signings in January as part of a settlement with the EFL over Financial Fair Play rules and left Deepdale empty-handed after Alan Browne’s goal.
Josh Harrop delivered the crucial free-kick after 50 minutes which was met at the far post by Browne, whose header looped over goalkeeper Matt Ingram.
And while McClaren, in his first game in charge, felt his side deserved more from the contest he said it was useful in learning where he needs to add strength to his squad.
“We’ve made one signing, I think we need more,” he said. “We now have a better picture of what we need to do.
“There’s a few weeks to go before the end of the loan window and we are looking to strengthen the squad and how we do that will go a long way to saying how we are going to do this season.
“We didn’t do enough to win the game but we very nearly got a draw.
“We knew this was going to be a tough game against what I would call a wily old Championship team who have been doing jobs on people and know how to win games.
“This is a very young team, we just need to grow and get more experience. We must get stronger, get more belief and mentally stronger if we are going to get results away from home.
“They demonstrated their experience in that and we, at times, showed our naivety.”