Conor Washington is enjoying life at the minute after scoring his third international goal – and believes a lot of the credit should go to his Northern Ireland and QPR managers, Michael O’Neill and Ian Holloway.

Washington pounced on Sunday night as the Irish defeated Norway 2-0 in a World Cup qualifying match in Belfast.

His three international goals have come in his three appearances at Windsor Park and combined with his good form for the Hoops, the QPR striker admits he’s in a “really good place” at the minute.

Speaking to www.qpr.co.uk ahead of Friday’s Sky Bet Championship showdown against Derby County at Pride Park, Washington said: “Everything seems to have clicked into place for me at QPR and on the international stage too.

“I’m really enjoying my football and my life in general.

“The manager has been fantastic for me – as has Michael O’Neill too.

“They’ve both really given my confidence levels a huge boost, which is vitally important for me as a player.

“I really enjoy playing for the gaffer,” he added about his club boss.

“I’ve had a lot of one-on-one conversations with him and he’s shown me a lot of clips of me scoring goals, which is something I’ve enjoyed.

“Stuff like that and the way he goes about man-management in general has given me a tremendous boost.

“It’s a really good place to be for all of us at QPR at the moment and long may that continue.”

The international break interrupted a good spell for Rangers with three wins and a draw in their last four games, a run they will be hoping to extend in front of the TV cameras on Friday.

And buoyed by his latest goal on international duty, Washington is in confident mood.

“Derby are a really good side, with top quality players,” he said.

“They’ve got a new manager now in Gary Rowett and with it being his first home game, that’ll add something to the game I’m sure.

“But we’ve been good away from home lately and we’ll go there with a game plan to get all three points.

“We’ve executed our game plan really well away from home in recent weeks, so it’s another good test – another good opportunity for us to show how we’ve progressed since the turn of the year.”