Massimo Luongo has backed his team-mate Ben Gladwin to kick on this season and show his worth to QPR.

The pair, who also played together at Swindon, are close friends off the field and Luongo believes his fellow midfielder will show everyone what he is capable of this season if he is given an extended run in the team.

Speaking exclusively to the Times he said: “I thought Ben was unlucky last year not to play. He was excellent in pre-season but didn’t have a proper chance during the campaign.

“I felt he had every right to, but the fact we had three managers in a season didn’t help him.

“In his position every manager wants something different so he’s got to adapt to that. Having had a full pre-season and fully adapted to the manager’s style I think he’ll be flying this season.

“Hopefully he can play as many games as he can, he’s going to have stiff competition, but I think that will bring the best out of him.”

Luongo feels the club are finally starting to build their own identity and personality on and off the field, and believes they are well equipped to challenge towards the upper regions of the Championship.

He added: “It certainly feels a lot better than last year in terms of our style, as well as our personality and identity on the pitch.

“Hopefully our depth in the squad gets better and we keep our best players, and as long as we do that, and keep our team spirit and bond strong we’ll have a great chance of having a successful season.

“The play-offs are a real genuine possibility for us this season, for sure, but we’ve got to make sure we maintain a good level of consistency to our game.”