QPR travel to Bolton Wanderers with something of a monkey on their back.

Last weekend's draw with Sunderland made it six games in a row without a victory, somewhat dampening the spirits of positive start made to the season in the Championship.

But how important is it to pick up a victory at the Macron Stadium?

In short it's crucial.

With each game that passes the pressure mounts as the stretch of poor form continues, making the atmosphere both in the stands and on the pitch nervy and at times hostile.

No-one wants to see the poor run of form continue, but the fact the Hoops are playing against the Championship basement boys means the game takes on added significance.

In terms of the table, another defeat would start to make the club sweat as the gap between them and the relegation zone gets smaller, but the psychological impact of losing to the bottom team could have a big impact.

Bolton have their struggles off the field, and sit six points away from safety at this early stage in the season after picking up just one win so far this season.

Ian Holloway - QPR vs Fulham

However that victory was last week against promotion contenders Sheffield Wednesday, so the Trotters' tails could be up going into Saturday's game.

Phil Parkinson's side knew that this season was going to be remarkably tough, and with that the pressure going into the weekend's game rests firmly on QPR's shoulders.

If Ian Holloway's side fail to get a win, what follows is a difficult run of fixtures where morale starts to dip when the question is 'where is the next win going to come from?' starts to play on everybody's minds.

QPR need to pick up a win this weekend, otherwise a season which showed real signs of promise throughout August could turn into something of a scrap.