Karl Henry believes QPR will ultimately be judged by the results they gain against teams like Stoke City rather than Sunday’s defeat to Manchester United.

Louis van Gaal has spent heavily in the transfer window to try and bring the good times back to Old Trafford after David Moyes’ disastrous reign at the helm.

Given that outlay on the likes of Angel Di Maria, who opened the scoring in a 4-0 win for the Red Devils, little was expected from Harry Redknapp’s Rangers.

The smiles were back at Old Trafford with Manchester United's comfortable win over QPR
The smiles were back at Old Trafford with Manchester United's comfortable win over QPR

Henry, who came on as second-half substitute for an exhausted Sandro, says the pressure was off in Manchester but it will be a different story on Saturday against the Potters.

“There’s a lot more pressure on those games,” he said. “When you come to these kind of grounds and play the top teams there’s no pressure on you.

"You’re expected to lose so you can give it everything and we’re disappointed that we didn’t give a good account of ourselves. We need to do more against the top sides in the league.

“They’re all worth three points. We have to remember that but, from the outside, we’ll be judged on those games [like Stoke] and it’s important that we bounce back with a performance and a result. I’m sure the fans are disappointed and we want to put it right for them as well.”

Sandro hobbled off with what appeared to be an injury, although it later emerged the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was suffering from cramp.

Clint Hill, who was taken off at half time, limped onto the team bus with a thigh strain.