QPR have been suckered into playing the wrong way over three winless games – reckons Niko Kranjcar.
As a result, midfielder and team-mates have just a single point to show for shipping seven goals.
The Croatian World Cup hope insists Rangers must reassert authority starting at Charlton on Saturday and ignore the muscle dished out by teams intent on wrecking their game.
“We need to impose the way play,” he said. “We need to impose our style of play and we haven’t been doing that enough recently.
“I think in recent games we’ve adopted the style of our opponents too much and the tempo hasn’t been right.
“We’re less likely to win physical battles and we’re maybe not that kind of side. We need to do what we do well. We haven’t produced it in recent games and we need to take responsibility for that – all of us.”
Rangers conceded three on Sunday to Reading, the same as the previous home game. In between, they were beaten 1-0 at Derby, who have leapfrogged Hoops into third.
The ever-worrying spectre of a nerve-shredding day at Wembley is starting to take shape.
However, Kranjcar neatly sidestepped the thorny issue of the play-offs as deftly as he does defenders on the pitch.
“Play-offs a disaster? It would be a disaster not to go up,” he explained. “Getting promotion is the club’s aim and has been mine since the day I arrived here.
“Obviously you want to go up automatically but if we were to win the play-offs that would be fantastic – a great day for the club – but nobody wants to take that chance.”
The 29-year-old hopes he is on a plane to Rio this summer to represent his country in the greatest football show on Earth, but admits he could lose out twice if Rangers fail to regain momentum.
“It would be a dream of mine to go to Brazil and I believe I deserve a spot on that plane,” he insisted.
“But I know that the best way to achieve that is to play well for QPR and so that is all I think about.
“To play for Croatia in the World Cup I need to be doing well for QPR. I know that and am focused only on that at the moment.”
Should all go according to plan, Kranjcar back in the Premier League for the third time with the same manager would be the icing on the cake.
“Do I want to stay? Definitely. I’m happy here,” he said. “It’s a good club with a good manager and fans – it’s a very good place to be at.
“You also have an owner who gives everything to his club and the players. Everything is in place and QPR is where I want to be.
“It’s up to us to get the club where it deserves to be, which is the Premier League, and I believe we can do that.”
