MARTI Cifuentes said he was “100 per cent confident” he could turn things around after Queens Park Rangers slumped to a 4-1 defeat against Middlesbrough at Loftus Road on Tuesday night.
Goals from Riley McGree and Tommy Conway and brilliant saves by Seny Dieng helped Michael Carrick’s visitors into a 2-0 lead at half-time.
Anfernee Dijksteel’s own goal in the 69th minute gave the Hoops some hope, before Boro killed that off with late goals from substitutes Emmanuel Latte Lath and Dan Barlaser.
QPR are second-bottom of the Championship table with just one win in fourteen games this season, 2-1 at Luton Town in August.
Cifuentes saved the side from relegation when he took over from Gareth Ainsworth in October 2023, and he believes he can do it again.
“I’m always confident, 100 per cent confident,” Cifuentes said.
“I think that I’ve been in situations like this in my career and I always succeed, so if someone expected that this would be an easy season, I think it was wrong.”
QPR fans showed their frustration after the final whistle.
“Hopefully they see a team that is trying their best,” Cifuentes said.
“Unfortunately so far it has not been enough, so I think it is fair that they are not happy in this moment. No-one is. I’m not a happy manager, the players are not happy to get the results that we are getting at the moment.
“But the only solution is to stay together. Because that was, I think, the main key of our success last season in a very difficult situation.
“And this season will probably be the same in a sense that we need everyone, so hopefully we can start to get the results that we want and pick up the points that we need.”
QPR are missing a number of important players including top-scorer Michael Frey, defenders Kenneth Paal and Jake Clarke-Salter, and influential attacker Ilias Chair.
Cifuentes said: “The reality is we have a lot of injuries, unfortunately, and this is punishing us a lot because we are missing important players.
“No doubt all teams in the league when they have an injury crisis we have, of eight or nine players off, will suffer.”
QPR face Leeds United at Elland Road this Saturday at 3pm.
