Dani Parejo is in the QPR team even when he's out of form - because chairman Flavio Briatore says so.

That's the growing feeling among a number of Rangers players, who were upset that chairman Briatore made a bee-line for the 18-year-old midfielder to congratulate him after the Carling Cup triumph at Aston Villa last week rather than the more obvious heroes of the night.

One anonymous player was surprised Parejo had been retained in the starting XI for the games against Derby last Saturday and Blackpool on Tuesday night, which yielded just a single point.

The second match also saw Parejo subbed at half-time with Rangers losing 1-0.

The source said: "Dani's a great prospect, but he's not had the best of weeks. The chairman has done wonders for the club, but at Villa it was plain to see just how much he thinks of him."

Boss Iain Dowie has made no secret that he had nothing to do with the loan deal for the Real Madrid youngster brokered by Briatore and pal Ramon Calderon, president of the Galacticos, but denied he's been leaned on from upstairs.

Dowie said: "Dani's a very good young player who's had a lot of games. You've got to take it on the chin when you're playing a passing game and it doesn't quite work. But I'm not under pressure to play him, and I'll be amazed if he's not a top, top player."

For all that, Parejo was nowhere near his best in the last twogames, and gave way after 45 minutes against Blackpool, along with winger Emmanuel Ledesma, as fans screamed for Dowie to revert to a 4-4-2 system and abandon his policy of a lone striker.

This he did, and Rangers' revival saw a goal chalked off, as well as a first for Dexter Blackstock's in four games, to claim a 1-1 draw.

However, Dowie is ready to revert to his more favoured and continental 4-5-1 look when Hoops face Birmingham today.

He said: "There's an obsession about systems rather than the people who play them.

"We've scored a lot of goals with this system. And it didn't harm Spain to play this way when they won the European Championship in the summer."