Critchley ‘so angry’ after QPR cup exit
A furious Neil Critchley accused his QPR players of lacking focus after they were dumped out of the FA Cup by League One side Fleetwood Town.
Rangers went ahead through Sam Field in the 37th minute but were pegged back immediately when an unmarked Aristote Nsiala headed home to equalise.
Midway through the second half Promise Omochere swept the ball home, via a handball that was missed by the referee, to hand the hosts a deserved place in the fourth round for the first time in their history.
R’s boss Critchley, who made three changes to the side that drew with Sheffield United earlier this week, was seething at the performance and admitted he feared the worst following a poor training session on Thursday before the team made the long journey to the Fylde Coast on Friday.
“I felt our concentration and focus wasn’t there and when we scored it was almost like ‘job done’ or ‘this is going to be simple’,” Critchley said.
“Our reaction to going 1-0 up was horrendous.
“They nearly scored from the kick-off because we weren’t ready, they then score from a corner three minutes later due to our shocking marking.
“I said to the players at half-time ‘if we carry on like this we will lose the game’.
“But there was no difference in the second half for the first 20 minutes and they deserved to score their second goal but it was handball from the corner and it shouldn’t have stood.
“But that is to take nothing away from Fleetwood, because they were better. It just wasn’t good enough from the start and we’re too inconsistent.
“I thought we took a step in the right direction against Sheffield United but we have taken a big step back today.”
Rangers fell away in the second half of last season following a strong start and have done likewise since topping the table under Mick Beale in October before he quit for Glasgow Rangers with just one win in 11 matches.
Critchley admitted it was a trend he noticed before taking on the job last month and said he must find a way of changing the inconsistent nature of the squad he has inherited.
“I suspected that when I came into the club having watched from afar and today has confirmed what I was worried about,” he said.
“We are so inconsistent and it has to change. I am so angry.
“It was a bewildering performance and not acceptable for this football club.
“If we are going to accept mediocrity then we are going to get performances like that on a regular basis. It has to change.
“Thursday’s training session concerned me and I told the group that.
“If we think we can just turn up, not be focused and concentrated then this is what we’ll get.
“I think we lost the game during the week and I will work tirelessly with the staff to change that.
08/01/2023 @ 3:04 pm
Attn Neil Critchley – Make them watch Cardiff v Leeds, its only half time at time of posting but this game shows what they should be achieving
08/01/2023 @ 12:20 pm
T Block – at least we still have our sense of humour – cant believe The front Dickie had though.
07/01/2023 @ 10:17 pm
January transfer strategy should be to re sign, Gallen, Wegerle and Fenwick ! Run rings round the current team and they’re all at least 50 ! Les dig your boots out son, you’re on too !
07/01/2023 @ 9:42 pm
Evening Angry,
On a positive note it’s nailed on we won’t lose any players during January, no club is going to touch them after this display !
Best part of the day was the “Captain Pugwash theme tune” when they scored ! Pity they didn’t bang a couple more in !!
07/01/2023 @ 7:14 pm
T Block – I hope you at least managed to stay out of the rain and kept dry. I would be asking for a refund.
07/01/2023 @ 7:07 pm
Im right behind the manager on this one. They have proved they are far far better but have seemingly just given up. If they dont buck up their ideas, I can see a major clear out looming,