QPR assessing Laird hamstring problem

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QPR are assessing a hamstring problem Ethan Laird picked up during the defeat at home to Sunderland.

The on-loan Manchester United right-back was withdrawn at half-time.

He has recently been out with hamstring trouble and now appears to be a doubt for Saturday’s game against Middlesbrough.


“He felt his hamstring, so we’ll have to look at it,” said boss Neil Critchley.

Laird’s fellow summer signings Jake Clarke-Salter, Taylor Richards, Leon Balogun and Tyler Roberts have all been absent for much of the season and are currently unavailable.

Critchley insisted he is the right man to manage QPR after another miserable evening at Loftus Road, where the Black Cats won 3-0.

Rangers are now without a win in 10 matches, have won just one of their past 17, and one of their 11 games since Critchley took over as head coach in the wake of Michael Beale’s departure.

Asked if he feels he is the right man for the job, Critchley said: “I believe I am, yes. I believe in my own ability to get the best out of this group of players.

“I didn’t see a team that wasn’t together or fighting tonight. I saw the players having a go.

“But it’s mistakes that are killing us. Sloppy goals are killing us. I didn’t see a team that had given up or lacked heart or desire.”

Rangers’ slump began under Beale but their ​decline​ since Critchley took over means he is under pressure.

Critchley admitted: “I’d be lying if I said I was enjoying the situation and the run we’re on.

“But you know what you sign up for when you take the job as a manager. It’s a tough moment but you have to roll your sleeves up and fight.

“If you ask any coach what they need, it’s always time. I know what I want to do and how I want to do it. I have to find a way to get the best out of these players.”