FORMER QPR midfielder Steve Lomas has backed his international colleague Jim Magilton to guide the Rs into the top six next season. Lomas (pictured right playing for QPR in 2006), who spent several years alongside the new Rangers boss...

FORMER QPR midfielder Steve Lomas has backed his international colleague Jim Magilton to guide the Rs into the top six next season.

Lomas (pictured right playing for QPR in 2006), who spent several years alongside the new Rangers boss in the heart of Northern Ireland's midfield, believes Magilton will be a success - as long as the club give him time.

"It's time for someone to get in there and be given at least a couple of years," Lomas told the Times. "There needs to be continuity at the club and I hope the chairman realises all that chopping and changing isn't any good.

"I think you could always see Jim had the right personality - he was a terrific player, passing the ball about, and this is a good opportunity for him.

"If you look at the QPR squad, it's vastly different from when I played there a few years ago and, with the addition of two or three players, they should be challenging for the play-offs.

"They haven't scored enough goals, that's clear, but they've got players like Akos Buzsaky and Martin Rowlands coming back and, if Jim can keep all those boys fit, they'll have a chance.