QPR striker Rumarn Burrell says the team has capitalised on the chaos of Championship football this season as they chase a return to the Premier League, with the club sitting just outside the promotion places after 13 matches.
In an exclusive interview with Standard Sport, Burrell explained how the team has embraced the frenetic energy that once overwhelmed them. “I feel like this year, we have really capitalised on the chaos and turned it into not just chaos but playing out of the chaos,” he said. “We are here to win. We are not trying to sit off teams. We are trying to get at them and press and create quality attempts.”
Fast Starts and a Statement Victory
QPR’s recent 5-0 thrashing of second-place Swansea was a statement victory, with Richard Kone scoring a hat-trick inside the first 15 minutes at Loftus Road. The Rs have scored 13 of their 21 league goals in the first half this season.
Burrell, currently nursing a “difficult” hamstring injury, watched the Swansea game from the sidelines and is eager to rejoin the attack alongside Kone. “I cannot wait until I am able to play again. Last season, me and him up top, it was a very good duo,” he said. “I like the way that we play together, just because our styles are different. He's coming short, dragging the centre-halves. I'm running behind, dragging the centre-halves to give him more space. We are always playing off each other.”
Building a Defined Style
QPR have not finished in the promotion spots since their relegation to the Championship in 2015, but their ambition is clear despite last weekend’s heavy 4-1 defeat at Southampton. Pre-season conversations centred on how they would achieve promotion, and the expanded play-off places, now including seventh and eighth, have boosted their chances. “Having it be the top eight now obviously gives us an even better opportunity and that is the main aim,” Burrell said.
Last season, QPR’s inconsistency stemmed from their transitional style, and Burrell admits much work has happened behind the scenes to develop a more defined and proactive way of playing. “I feel like that has really just helped us in games,” he said. “Just being able to control the game instead of the other team controlling it. A few times last season we gave away some silly points, not controlling the game towards the end. (We were still) trying to transition when we could just get into a good shape and lock down and see out the game.”
Partnership and Extra Work
Burrell and Kone combine shopping trips to Westfield with extra shooting practice after training with assistant head coach Kevin Betsy. “The sessions he puts on are really specific,” Burrell said. “He says you've got super strengths that we are always trying to get better. So we always do specific things and try and nail it. I am always trying to get in behind the backline, so having extra sessions to work on that and increase the different types of finishes that I can do. Maybe I will go for a chip, or maybe I will try and slot it.”
QPR are young and imperfect, following up impressive wins over Derby and Swansea with damaging defeats by Birmingham and Southampton. Yet with Kone and Burrell’s goals, Pierce Charles’ form in goal and Stephan’s intelligence and focus, there is a strongly held belief that QPR have their best shot in years of climbing back to the Premier League, with quiet optimism building in west London.
