QPR captain Joey Barton reckons there is no pressure to beat Swansea on New Year's Day - because Hoops are already ahead of their survival target.

Rangers lost their three-game winning sequence at home in the damp squib draw against Crystal Palace on Sunday, but the midfielder did his homework to reveal the club is doing better than the 2011-12 season, when they survived on the last day at Manchester City.

The ‘infamous’ (Barton’s description) match, proved a personal nadir for the 32-year-old, but the current stats bode well for the side in 15th place.

He said: “I was looking at the stats that led to the City game. At this point of that season we only had 14 points, and we had a great end.

“It took us 22 games to get 17 points back then, and we’re three games ahead of target. Now everyone from Everton down is a legitimate contender for the dogfight.”

Barton admitted the Palace point won’t live long in the memory, but set up nicely the chance of revenge over the Swans.

Rangers were well beaten 2-0 at the Liberty earlier in the month, but fortress Loftus Road is a different proposition, explained the player.

“It was a bit frustrating for the fans even though we put 20 balls into the box against Palace, but credit their defence,” he said.

“(Mauricio) Isla handled (Yannick) Bolasie as well as anyone I’ve seen. It was said to be a good old fashioned English game, but it was a closer to a scrap.”

The candid captain revealed the thought of getting their own back on Swansea was on QPR minds almost from the final whistle.

“We were c*** at Swansea,” he said. “After the game, and at everyone we’ve played away, we’ve thought wait till we get them back here. We're a different side at home, that shouldn’t be the case, but it is.”