Mark Warburton might have talked himself into a corner with his comments on Conor Masterson

It’s good to talk about some stuff that isn’t the transfer window for once.

It gets boring talking about who may or may not be coming to or going out of the club, so why not focus on those that are actually at the club.

One of those players is Conor Masterson, who has found himself quickly becoming a very popular player amongst the Queens Park Rangers fanbase after his debut against Swansea City in the F.A Cup.

And speaking to the club website ahead of tonight’s clash with Sheffield Wednesday, QPR boss Mark Warburton talked about the quick impact he’s been able to make on the squad and what the future holds for him.

“I’m very pleased for Conor. He’d been very patient and I’ve made it very clear that he’s a young player who needs to keep developing. You have to think about the level of challenge for young players. Leeds are a very talented team and if you get the level of challenge wrong then it can have a very detrimental effect on a young player. Conor rose to the challenge really well and delivered an excellent performance. He now needs to understand the importance of consistency and applying himself well and that is how young players develop.”

It’s the point about consistency though that grabs my attention, and whether or not Warburton will be able to deliver it from now until the end of the season.

I’ve spoken before about how Warburton needs to be careful with how he handles the Masterson situation, and I feel that if he keeps talking him up like this, then he’s putting himself in a situation where he has no choice but to play him.

And the fact he’s mentioning consistency indicates that he could be a first-team regular means he could be talking himself into a corner, especially when later he talked about the likes of Yoann Barbet coming back from injury, there might not be as many opportunities for him as Warburton sounds like he’s going to offer him.

So it’s going to be interesting to see if he can deliver on his promises down the line, or if the seniority of Barbet will supersede his place in the team, something that I hinted at yesterday.