Washington determined to prove himself at QPR

Conor Washington believes he can prove himself in the Championship in his first full season at QPR. 

The 24-year-old striker, signed from Peterborough in January in the wake of Charlie Austin’s departure from Loftus Road, failed to score in his 15 appearances for the R’s last season.

He finally opened his account in Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Watford – a goal he hopes is a sign of things to come.

And he believes the experience gained from a difficult start to his career at Peterborough, where he scored just once in his first 15 games, has enabled him to stay positive.

“It’s definitely helped me and I had the same thing when I went to Newport initially as well,” Washington said.

“It’s nice to get that six months to bed-in and now I’m seeing this as the time to hit the ground running and show everyone here at the club what I can do.

“Moving mid-season is always quite a tough one, because you come into a system and it can be different to the team you were at before, which was especially true when I signed here.”

Direct competition

That system means Washington is competing for just one place up front.

Sebastian Polter is currently boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s first choice striker. Playing Washington in a wide role is an option neither Hasselbaink nor the Northern Ireland international are particularly keen on.

“Basically I’m in direct competition with Seb, who has been outstanding,” said Washington.

“That’s obviously good for the manager. I’ve just got to try to take any chance when it does come.

“The goal was a long time coming – I could have done with one of them 14 or 15 games ago – but it’s nice to get a goal.

“It is a weight off my shoulders and hopefully it is the start of things to come.”