QPR must show mental resolve in Coventry reunion

Queens Park Rangers boss Julien Stephan wants his side to show the same mental resolve they fostered following their 7-1 defeat by Coventry City back in August as they meet again in the reverse fixture on Saturday.

The R's delivered a dismal performance at the CBS Arena at the beginning of the season as they were hammered by the Championship leaders before embarking on a six-match unbeaten streak, which included four wins.

Returning to action for the first time since a 3-2 defeat by Wrexham last weekend, in which QPR had led 2-1 well into stoppage-time, Stephan has called for calm heads and strong minds.

"Mental strength in football is probably the most important thing because across a season, there is always ups and downs - [especially] in the Championship," he told BBC Radio London.

"If you are not able to deal with your emotions in the situation, that means you are not ready to play in this league.

"You have to always be able to react, reset and show some character and use different experiences in order to be better the next time."

Before Wrexham's 93rd-minute leveller at Loftus Road on Saturday, the R's sat in the play-off places but, after Ollie Rathbone's 94th minute winner, they dropped all the way down to 12th.

"It's a crazy league," Stephan added. "To be fair, my focus is not only on the position in the table, it is to find a solution and change something in terms of our organisation.

"The players showed some very good quality, so we don't have to forget that, and we continue to trust and believe in our players and just learn from the different experiences."

The Coventry defeat concluded a challenging first fortnight in the Championship for Stephan, who joined the club to replace Marti Cifuentes in June having previously managed Strasbourg and Rennes in France.

QPR lost two and drew their opening three matches, while were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League One Plymouth Argyle.

But an impressive recovery followed and Stephan appears to have re-established the west London club as a consistent mid-table side but with credible designs on reaching the top six for the first time since 2014.

QPR winger Karamoko Dembele officially made his move to Loftus Road permanent last summer after initially joining on loan from French club Brest.

The 22-year-old said he has helped Stephan acclimatise to his new surroundings during his first season as a manager in English football, wherever he can.

"He's a very adaptable person and manager. When he first came in, he had his challenges," Dembele told BBC Radio London.

"It's always different hearing about it [English football] than experiencing it first hand.

"I've been able to talk to him a little bit but I'm just as new as him, so I will give him my experiences but, ultimately, you have to live it yourself and take whatever you can from it."

Despite the disappointment of last Saturday, Dembele remained upbeat on his side's chances of a play-off push with 17 league matches remaining.

"Since I've been here, everyone around the club has always been positive. I still feel like we still want to do something this season," he added.

"So, although it [the Wrexham defeat] was a sucker-punch, you might feel that loss for a day, you need to move on really quickly and that's the feeling I'm getting from a lot of the players."