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29 March 2024

Resurgent QPR dreaming of survival

Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Paddy Kenny (left) challenges Arsenal's Robin van Persie during their English Premier League match at Loftus Road in London on Saturday. (REUTERS)

Published
By AFP

Akos Buzsaky believes Queens Park Rangers are finally demonstrating the spirit needed to end the fear of an immediate return to the Championship.

The midweek 3-0 victory over Swansea moved Mark Hughes's side out of the bottom three and they could establish a bigger cushion between themselves and the relegation places with victory at West Bromwich Albion.

The Swansea win was Rangers's third successive home triumph and came on the back of notable victories over Arsenal and Liverpool.

Away from Loftus Road it has been a different story and a trip to the Hawthorns is likely to provide a stern test, with West Brom eager to extend the 10-point gap that exists between themselves and the drop zone.

But Buzsaky, the Hungary midfielder who scored his side's third goal against Swansea, believes that after a difficult campaign, recent performances have confirmed the side has the stomach for a fight.

"When you are in this situation there are two ways to go," he said. "You can just give up or fight for your lives. We are fighting for our lives.

"We know how important it is for the club and every single player in the dressing room to stay in this league.

"We know the reason we're down here is because we didn't perform as well as we should earlier in the season.

"The players realised that at the right time and now everyone is focused and concentrated."

Buzsaky was one of the stars of the club's title-winning promotion campaign last season but has featured in a much more peripheral role this season.

"I don't want to go down. Last season I was a champion. It is the worst feeling if you go down a division. To realise you are not good enough is the worst thing that could happen.

"I know it's a bit late but we're going to do it. There are five games to go and we need to play every single game to win," he said.

"It looks like we can perform better against big teams because we beat Liverpool and Arsenal and nobody would have given us a chance against them.

"At home we have started to perform well and it is a step forward but now we need to perform away from home as well. If we do that we have a fair chance."

Former England international Nicky Shorey is determined for West Brom to ensure a memorable season ends on a high note - instead of a whimper.

Albion are well on course to secure survival for the second campaign running, the first time the club has secured three consecutive seasons in the top flight since the Premier League was introduced in 1992.

And despite their thrashing at Manchester City on Wednesday, Shorey insists the season must be viewed as an unprecedented success.

He said: "We want to push on. You always want to end the season on a high because you can take that into the next season.

"If we lost the last five or six games it would still be a good season but we would be disappointed. We don't like losing games. That's not what we want.

"Hopefully we can bounce back against QPR and remind everyone that it has been a really good season."