Cifuentes backs Dixon-Bonner after encouraging full debut for QPR
Marti Cifuentes believes Elijah Dixon-Bonner proved he is a player the new QPR boss can rely on after his encouraging full league debut.
The former Liverpool player joined Rangers last October and was largely overlooked by former boss Gareth Ainsworth even when the club’s other midfielders were unavailable.
Dixon-Bonner’s only previous QPR start came in the Carabao Cup match against Norwich in August.
But he played the full 90 minutes and went close to scoring in the 1-1 draw at Rotherham on Saturday, having been chosen ahead of Stephen Duke-McKenna in the absence of suspended duo Jack Colback and Andre Dozzell.
Cifuentes, who took just two training sessions with his new squad following his arrival in west London on Tuesday, was pleased with how the 22-year-old performed alongside Sam Field.
“I am very satisfied with him,” Cifuentes said.
“He has good quality, he is a midfielder who I call an eight, he can do box-to-box.
“He has defensive capacities but at the same time is good on the ball.
“He is smart technically and I think he is a boy who can grow a lot. I am looking forward to getting to know him better and see how we can get the best out of him.
“I don’t want to look what happened before – everybody is starting at zero.
“But it is a fact that we had two important midfielders in Colback and Dozzell out with suspension and Elijah has shown that we can rely on him and is a player we can use in the future.”
The change in style under Cifuentes was immediate, with Rangers’ adopting a vastly more sophisticated approach than under Ainsworth.
Chris Willock was brought into the starting line-up and Taylor Richards featured as a second-half substitute.
“I like good players and Chris is a good player,” Cifuentes explained.
“He has technical quality to play in small spaces and he needs to be decisive, so hopefully we can get him back to his best level.
“I think he tried a lot in a very difficult game for him. He will be an important player for us.
