QPR boss explains why Ronnie Edwards played in midfield
Marti Cifuentes says Ronnie Edwards was deployed as a defensive midfielder against Luton partly in order to help him find his feet on his QPR debut.
The centre-back was recently signed on loan from Southampton for the rest of the season – West London Sport had revealed that Rangers had made a move for him.
He came on as a second-half substitute during Tuesday’s 2-1 win for his first appearance since arriving at Loftus Road.
Edwards replaced Jonathan Varane and initially featured in midfield before head coach Cifuentes moved him to his natural position.
Cifuentes explained: “We know he is a very technical defender – and actually he has played before in this number-six role.
“The reason behind it was that he has been here just a few days, it was a difficult game because of the way Luton play – very direct and with players that can run in behind – and it’s not easy as a defender in that kind of game.
“Jonathan was with a yellow card and we thought it would be a good introduction for him to start with some minutes in midfield to get him into the rhytm of the game and then drop him into his more natural position.
“He didn’t put a foot wrong. He did really well and showed that he’s a quality player and hopefully he will help us a lot.”
Cifuentes insisted there is “no place for complacency” after his team made it five home wins in a row.
Rangers, bottom of the Championship a few weeks ago, are now up to 13th in the table after a run of just one defeat in 11 matches.
Cifuentes declared: “We need to keep pushing. There is no place for complacency.
“There is no place for thinking that five wins in a row, we are all good. There are still things that we can improve and improve quite a lot.
“We keep working and prepare game-by-game. We know how quickly things can turn.
“We won the game and it’s five in a row, but the reality is that this league is very demanding.
“It’s still January, let’s keep working and see if we can keep improving as a team.”
