McClaren hails return of ‘warrior’ Hemed

Steve McClaren has welcomed Tomer Hemed’s return to action and predicted he will play a major role for QPR for the remainder of the season.

The on-loan Brighton striker has been eased back into the Rangers side since a hernia operation.

Hemed scored with a penalty during Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat at home to West Brom – his first goal since October.

“It was great to see him on the field because you can see he’s a leader and a warrior,” said Rangers manager McClaren.

“I’m delighted with him scoring and he’s going to be an important player for us for the rest of the season.

“He’s not really had a run and got into a rhythm.”

Rangers have suffered six consecutive defeats – a run which has seen them slip down to 18th in the Championship table and means they are not completely safe from relegation.

They endured a terrible start to McClaren’s reign, losing his first four league matches at the helm, before the arrivals of Hemed, Nahki Wells, Geoff Cameron and Angel Rangel sparked a revival.

Hemed, Cameron and Rangel have since been sidelined by injuries and McClaren believes their return can lead to another upturn.

“We need Cameron and Rangel back and now we’ve got Hemed back,” McClaren said.

“That was the difference the last time; we suffered, we brought experienced players in and we went on a run.

“We’ve had them injured but we’ve got to keep fighting like we have been until we get everybody back.

“We’ve got to get a result and once that happens then we’ll start winning.”