Mark Warburton defended his decision to take off Bright Osayi-Samuel during QPR’s 6-1 hammering of Cardiff City.
The winger scored twice and was outstanding against the Bluebirds – so much so that some fans booed the decision to take him off with 15 minutes remaining.
But manager Warburton, who rested Ryan Manning, insisted that Osayi-Samuel was taken off for his own good because of the hectic period of games.
“I’ve never been booed at 6-0 before, I’ve got to say,” said Warburton, as reported by West London Sport.
He added: “Bright came off because you’ve got to look after the young players.
“You’ve got to look after him. He’s a fast-switch (muscles) athlete – a power athlete who is rapid and has sheer pace.
“He’s great to watch but you’ve got to look after him. You can’t afford four to six-week injuries.
“These demands; you can’t be playing on the 21st, 26th, 29th – whatever it may be – without injury and fatigue kicking in.
“Ryan Manning didn’t play today because I’ve got to look after him. Data tells us that fatigue is impacting them massively, and we’ve got to look after players.
“All over the park players are struggling because of the schedule. We have to look after them as best we can.”