Through gritted teeth, Ryan Manning took a ‘compliment’ from the way Derby County set out to stop QPR.
Ian Holloway has stated that 80% of his match preparation is aimed at nullifying the opposition but it was Ollie's side that were out-thought in the 1-0 defeat on Friday.
Bradley Johnson was tasked with screening the long ball into lone striker Matt Smith which cut off the vast majority of the Super Hoops’ entries into the final third.
Although he underlined the importance of being able to find different ways of playing, Manning felt this to be a nod to the effectiveness of his team’s gameplan.
“They did do their homework on us,” he said.
“The way they tried to stop us was a compliment.
“They felt that the way we play is an effective gameplan and one that could hurt them.
“We need to be able to learn to have plan A, B and C.
“We need to go back to the training ground and become a team that has a lot more to them than just hitting the big man and playing off him.”
The Irishman watched on as Idrissa Sylla headed a great chance onto the post into the 86th minute- which would have snatched a late point for the R’s.
Like most Rangers fans, Manning took little solace from the creation of that chance but believed it showed a team more determined to force the issue in the closing stages of games.
“You can’t put it down to that chance,” he said.
“We should have created more and our whole game shouldn’t have been dependent on a chance in the last minute.
“It was a positive note that we created something.
“In the last few minutes of games this season, we haven’t always created things.
“We have let games peter out. At Derby we put in a shift and tried to make something at the end.”
