Jim Magilton pointed the finger of blame squarely at his defenders as Coventry escaped with a point from Loftus Road on Saturday. The Northern Irishman will take his team to Sheffield United in the FA Cup in January.

Magilton said: “I think we created enough chances to win the game, albeit Coventry were still very much in it and looked very, very dangerous from set-pieces. They caused us problems whenever the ball went near our box. But our general play was excellent, as was our composure. When we went a goal down we still looked to pass the ball. We then justifiably went 2-1 up, and on another day would have gone on to win the game quite comfortably. Both goals were woeful. We've had two Saturdays now where the goals have been an absolute joke.

“I’m extremely disappointed. We didn’t defend at set-pieces and I’m angry about that. Matt Connolly has to take his share of the blame for the first goal. If you’re marking someone then you need to take responsibility. For the second goal, the keeper should have done better. I’m angry because performance-wise, we were very good with the ball. We were confident, extremely bright and passed it well. But you also have to take responsibility and defend for your lives. That didn’t happen. We fell asleep at set-pieces.

“It's very much a work-in-progress but I won't tolerate the goals that we're conceding. We're very much disappointed that we haven't won a home game today, but we've moved up a place - it's a crazy division. We're still striving for perfection, and we know it's not out there but there's no reason for coming in and not trying to get there."

Coventry manager Chris Coleman told his club’s website that he was impressed with QPR, and the way his side fought for a point from the game. Coleman said: “For 20 minutes or so in the second half QPR put on the best performance I have seen from a side in this division. We could not get near them and at times were hanging on. They were excellent but we came back. They did have chances but their second goal was a deflection and when you are on a run like ours, that can happen. We felt a bit sorry for ourselves for five minutes or so and maybe went a bit route one when our confidence was knocked. I think this is a great point for us. All teams will come here and will struggle. They are a strong squad and we have been on a drastic run, but hopefully that will give us a platform.”

The other big news this weekend is the drawing of the FA Cup third round ties. QPR face an awkward trip to Bramall Lane on the first weekend in January to face fellow Championship side Sheff Utd. Kevin Blackwell’s men were tipped for the title by LFW before the start of the season but have under achieved so far and sit in the bottom half of the table despite a last minute winner at Bristol City yesterday. The draw is a poor one for QPR who will neither gain financially nor progress easily to the next round but with the R’s improved away form this year and Sheff Utd’s poor performances thus far this is far from an impossible task. Supporters looking to book trains may wish to hold off for a day or two as Sheff Wed were drawn at home to Crystal Palace and South Yorkshire Police may insist on one of the games being moved to avoid a situation where rival fans from two Sheffield clubs and two London ones are all heading to the same place on the same day.

The game will be Saturday January 2 or Sunday 3 just a fortnight after the teams meet in the league at Loftus Road.

Elsewhere Peter Ramage has been talking about former manager Paulo Sousa with Swansea visiting his former club Newcastle this weekend. Ramage said: “He’s a very thorough manager. You train Monday to Saturday, and it’s all geared towards the opposition, more so than any other manager I’ve worked with. Every session’s geared towards something specific – everything’s thought out, and he tried to make things hard for the opposition. He’s very thorough about things, and has that European mentality. He thinks about the potential problems you’ll come up against, and tries to rectify them. He’s a really good coach – one of the best I’ve come across in terms of preparation. When we played them earlier in the season we went down to nine men, and they caused us a lot of problems. They kept the ball really well, which is something he preached when he was at our place.”

The rumour mill has today, via the Sunday People, said that QPR have slapped a £1.5m price tag on the head of teenage sensation Raheem Sterling as Man City and Arsenal step up their chase of the 14 year old. Sterling, yet to sign a YTS deal at Rangers, played the first half of the England U16 game on Friday.

In former QPR news Dexter Blackstock has been talking about his decision to join Nottingham Forest from Rangers in the summer. He said: “One of the main reasons I came here was the ambition, you could see where the club was going. When they came calling for me to come on loan, they were two points adrift in the relegation zone and people thought it was a crazy move for me. But I brought into the plan; into what the manager and chairman told me – and look where we are now. We are just a few points off the play-off places and we could have more points on the board. Things are definitely on the up. And I am not surprised about that, because I believed what I was told. If I thought there was another relegation battle on the horizon, I would not have come here. I would have stayed at QPR. But, even when I first came I did not think for a moment that we would go down and I was quietly confident that we would be up there this season. People thought I was crazy at the time. But I knew I wasn't."

Elsewhere in the Championship today Ipswich secured a surprise 2-1 win at Cardiff that keeps QPR in fifth. The fall out from yesterday’s abandonment at Plymouth that came an hour into a game that Barnsley led 4-1 has continued with Tykes manager Mark Robins saying: “I don't think he would have made the same decision if the score was the other way around.”

Photo: Action Images

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