Keeping the energy levels up during a gruelling campaign.
That seems to be the message that QPR boss Mark Warburton wants to get across to his players and the fans as QPR get begin the turn for home.
Warburton made a few changes between the game against Huddersfield Town on Saturday and Swansea City on Tuesday, and it was all done with a view to the long term. Speaking ahead of today’s game with Stoke City, the boss laid out precisely why he made the changes he did, and that we can expect a few more of them going forward:
“You can take one player out for two or three games and it is about keeping it fresh. Todd Kane is another one who came out and in the coming weeks that could be very beneficial to us. We have to use the squad. There are a lot of Saturday-Tuesdays coming up, with Derby and Charlton to come in midweek soon, and we have to make sure that we are fresh and ready for those games.”
However, it’s all about getting the balance right.
With all the rotations that he’s mentioning, I’d much prefer to have a settled, first-choice side that we get to see on a regular basis, and maybe have one change to rest players every couple of weeks, rather than having a constantly rotating squad.
The more that a team plays together, the more used to each other they are, and it will allow the team to start flowing a lot better. Just take a look at Liverpool and the success they’re having. Part of that is down to the players, but the fact that they name the same eleven on a more or less weekly basis has played a huge part in their rise up the table.
So now it’s more important than ever that Warburton finds out what his best side is, and then sticks with it. The chopping and changing isn’t going to do us much good going forward as we try to get ourselves out of this rut that we’re in.