Hill admits: “We have to start keeping 11 men on the pitch”

Clint Hill admits QPR must address their poor disciplinary record if they are to stand a fighting chance of staying in the Premier League this season.

Samba Diakite became the fifth Rangers player of the season to be sent off when his rash tackle on Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz earned him a second yellow card just 33 minutes into his debut on Saturday.

It followed Djibril Cisse’s red card in QPR’s last home game against Wolves - a game which they lost 2-1 after leading 1-0 – while Hill, Armand Traore and Joey Barton have also seen red this season.

“The biggest thing we need to address is the discipline, we have to keep 11 on the pitch,” said the Rangers defender.

“I feel sorry for Mark Hughes because we haven’t been getting the results he deserves. We’ve done a lot of preparation on teams but when you lose men that obviously goes out of the window.

“Is time running out? Yes, of course. We say every week that these are the biggest games of the season. The last three have been massive, and we haven’t got any points.

“Sooner rather than later it’s going to have to be done because other teams are picking up points. As long as it is mathematically possible, we will believe that we can push through.”

QPR are the league’s joint second lowest scorers at home this season, finding the net just 11 times.

Against Fulham, Jamie Mackie and in particular Shaun Wright-Phillips missed presentable opportunities to score, and Hill believes his side’s profligacy in front of goal must also be improved.

“In this league, the chances you do get, you need to finish them,” added Hill. “But we also need that little bit of luck, get 1-0 up, that might give us a little kick-start.

“Obviously a lot of players are out, including Djibril [Cisse] and in his first couple of games he looked very lively. We’re missing some players like that, so hopefully over the next week or two we can get them back and start firing on all cylinders, because goals are important in this league.”

The Rangers left-back also backed midfielder Diakite, who faced a tough baptism of fire in his first game since arriving from Nancy during the January transfer window.

“He’s been great, I thought he did well for the first 20 or 25 minutes. He looked composed and comfortable,” he added. “He was a bit rash but he’s a young kid in a new country and playing in one of the toughest leagues in the world. He will learn from it and hopefully he won’t do it again.”

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