R`s caretaker manager Gareth Ainsworth referred to the team`s resilience when facing 10-man Cardiff at Loftus Road on Saturday:
‘It`s a fantastic result. The lads kept believing right to the end. I never doubted them,” he told QPR.co.uk.
“I think we got the rub of the green with the first sending off, but to be fair to the lads, they kept going and Gavin Mahon came up with a fantastic header to win us the three points.”
Ainsworth spoke briefly to BBC Radio London after the game: “I always had faith in the boys and that`s the truth. I never got frustrated.”
“The boys tried their best, tried to play and probe,” he added, explaining how the team was working together:
“QPR has really pulled together. Everyone`s backing everyone. We`re picking up, we`re backing each other, and I think we can achieve good things this season.”
Ainsworth admitted that, having played against Birmingham City in our last home game with only 10 men in the second half, it meant that the team knew how tough it was going to be playing against 10-man Cardiff:
“Dave (Jones) really gotthem going, got them coming out at us for the second half.”
Ainsworth praised the resilience of the QPR defence: “The lads held on. The defence is fantastic at the moment. We are not conceding.”
He talked about the substitutions and admitted that he was aware that it was important to give a substitute plenty of time to make an impact.
“The subs came on and did a fantastic job. We try and get our subs on quite early. I`ve made a decision to try to get them on so they can affect games.”
He admitted that bringing a substitute on late in the game (with 10 or 15 minutes left) does not give that player the opportunity to really affect a game as well as having the opposition tightening up at that late stage of the game in the hope that they can get something out of it themselves:
“Putting Akos and putting Gavin on with 30 and 40 minutes to go was the key.”
Ainsworth also admitted that he gave Buzsaky some homework to do whilst sitting on the bench!
“I told Akos to study Cardiff on the bench. He did that and he got on and he unlocked them a few times. He`s a fantastic player.”
“But Emmanuel Ledesma, who went off, is a fantastic player. It`s a nice problem to have for Tuesday!” he added, obviously a happy man!
When speaking to QPR.co.uk, Ainsworth singled out goal-scorer Gavin Mahon for special praise:
“Gavin`s been left out a few times recently, but he`s the ultimate professional and I`m delighted that he`s come up trumps with the winner today.”
He also talked to QPR.co.uk about Purse`s sending-off just before the half-hour:
“The sending off`s helped but we still looked solid,” although he went on to tell BBC.co.uk that he thought the sending off was not necessarily the correct decision:
“I thought it looked harsh and I told Dave Jones and Darren that.”
But his final thoughts toQPR.co.uk indicate to all the pride Ainsworth has in the position he currently holds:
“1-0 is as good as 5-0 for me and we`ve got three points on the board and closed the gap on the top six.”
“I`m a very proud man to be leading QPR – and tonight is very special for me against one of my former Clubs.”
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