By Daniel Harrod WE VE all been there. The stress of work is evidently taking its toll on your hair, your girlfriend s just shown you the door, and the one thing that you always turn to, to give you that little bit of hope, just can t muster up the courag

By Daniel Harrod

WE'VE all been there. The stress of work is evidently taking its toll on your hair, your girlfriend's just shown you the door, and the one thing that you always turn to, to give you that little bit of hope, just can't muster up the courage to show you things are indeed going to be fine.

That 'one thing' is of course the football club you love so dearly. The mist has descended over your ever-optimistic eyes and those three points you long for seem further away than retirement.

So let's take a minute to feel some sympathy for the likes of those Portsmouth fans, Grimsby fans even, and closer to home, us QPR fans.

QPR fans have been hit hard. Harder than a crunching Danny Shittu tackle. Turmoil off the pitch is nothing new, however the players have recently found themselves in a rather ever-descending sticky patch.

One win in 13 league games, a team bereft of any confidence and a pretty much completely new team to the one than graced the Loftus Road pitch, thrashing the likes of Preston and Reading, not so long ago.

The fans are beginning to wonder what they'd done in a previous life to deserve this unjust punishment. I do, however, have to ask the question: why do we keep on going back?

Is it an addiction? Is it an estranged love affair? Do we all live in hope and expectation? Each could be a contributing factor to our desire to depart from our pounds and pennies to go and watch the Rs attempt to add another three points to their depleted tally.

I must admit, nothing gets me more excited than a home game. Even if it's against Scunthorpe and you know you're going to lose 1-0. Just that tiny bit of hope, that Rangers might put in a performance you won't want to miss, Adel Taarabt may score a wonder goal, or, dare I say it, QPR might win the game.

So next time you're contemplating whether to see the in-laws or make the trip to W12, just remind yourself of why you support the club you do.

I'm sure even the greatest of pessimists and haters of the board, deep down (in some cases, very deep) don't really want to miss the next game.

When things can't seem to get any worse, just remember that when those three points are finally won, all the heartbreak and distress will be eradicated from our minds, and be replaced with ecstasy and delight. A Saturday wouldn't be a Saturday without going to see QPR - regardless of the result and the performance.