Scott Minto says that QPR face a difficult test against 'a very good' Brentford side.
Minto will host tonight's broadcast live on Sky Sports, and says that his former colleague Ian Holloway is having to use all of his experience to guide the club through a difficult time.
Speaking to GetWestLondon, he said: "Knowing what I know about the financial issues, it feels like Ollie can't just manage a football team he's got to manage a football club.
"All of the stuff that must be going on behind the scenes must be very difficult. He must be using all of his experience to not let that affect him with the football matters. He wants to get QPR into the Premier League eventually but there are 16 clubs in the Championship who are also thinking 'we could do a Huddersfield and go up' as well.
"The fans clearly want someone like Ollie in charge, they want one of their own and want to see good football, they understand it's not going to be winning football all of the time because of the situation the club's in, but there's still a pressure because the club has been in the Premier League.
"I think it's very difficult for Ollie right now and some of the things that the fans don't realise when you're wanting to plan ahead for January and for next season, you don't know if a large chunk is going to be taken out of the budget for this fine. He has to concentrate on what he's doing on the pitch. It's hard enough with it probably being one of the strongest Championships we've ever seen; people are spending money where QPR aren't.
"Would Ollie like to be closing in on the top six? Of course he would, but one thing you can say is that this Championship is tougher than ever. Look at Leeds with seven defeats in nine yet they still find themselves three points off the play-offs, you go on a good run, and that can happen at any time, and you're right back up there.
Speaking about how he sees the game panning out, Minto says that he thinks the fans at Loftus Road could play a huge part on tonight's outcome.
He said: "I think it's going to be difficult for QPR.
"I've been very impressed with Brentford this season. Speaking to Brentford people during the bad run at the start of the season, and watching and listening to the team, they played well and didn't deserve to lose a lot of those games.
"What Dean Smith is doing, I like him, I like what he did at Walsall, I like that he wants his players to solve problems themselves and not for him to have to do it because it's difficult for a manager to do that. I know Ollie is very into that as well but Brentford are a very good passing side. They're capable of beating anyone on their day, it's just finding that consistency.
"With QPR in a little bit of a dip at the moment in terms of three-straight defeats and two wins in 12, if it was at Griffin Park I'd certainly fancy Brentford, but because it's at Loftus Road and because of QPR's good home form I think they could get something out of this game, but I think the best they could hope for is a draw."
