Mark Warburton believes Ryan Manning’s performance for QPR against Stoke vindicated the recent decision to leave him out.
Manning has impressed at left-back this season but was given a rest after his form dipped.
Rangers’ analysis team had made manager Warburton aware of statistics – in categories such as distances covered – which suggested that fatigue was affecting Manning’s performances.
He was therefore replaced by Lee Wallace and has seemed re-energised since his return.
The Irishman was outstanding in Saturday’s 4-2 win at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, where he created several chances.
Warburton said: “Sometimes players have to come out. Ryan played the first 24-25 games.
“Sometimes you have to freshen it up a little bit. Some players you pull out and they’re good for it.
“Ryan showed that. He worked hard, defended well and showed good quality in the final third attacking-wise.”
Warburton has made other changes of late, bringing in experienced duo Angel Rangel and Marc Pugh for Todd Kane and Ilias Chair respectively.
And centre-back Conor Masterson has made way for the fit-again Yoann Barbet.
Warburton explained: “Todd Kane has played a lot of football and Angel came in. Ilias has played a lot of football and comes out.
“They’re not dropped. If you have a real squad mentality, they’re not dropped.
“You have to try to rotate the players and keep it fresh. You have to get the balance right.
“It’s not easy, and sometimes you get it wrong, but if you can keep the motivation there and hunger to play then you’re in a good position.
“If Todd or Angel plays there’s a reason why we pick one and not the other.
“You hope the players trust you. It’s frustrating for them when they’re not playing, because they’re competitive animals, but we’re in it together.
“They want to play, but it’s always about the squad, never about one person.
“We’ve got a really tight squad in terms of numbers but have players who can play in different positions and that helps us.”
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This post was last modified on 17/02/2020