While Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was busy criticising the Stamford Bridge faithful for being too quiet, QPR duo Rob Green and Steven Caulker were full of praise for the vocal backing from the Rs faithful during the west London derby.
Rangers were beaten 2-1 on the pitch but, off it, the travelling supporters sang loudly throughout the 90 minutes – and it did not go unnoticed by the players.
Goalkeeper Rob Green said: “The fans were fantastic.
“That’s the biggest following I’ve ever seen at Stamford Bridge. At the other end I could hear them as well.
“OK, they didn’t have to travel very far, but it’s been great before that. At Southampton they filled out the away end, and at West Ham.
“It’s deeply appreciated by everyone in the dressing room.”
Defender Steven Caulker was also full of praise for the support from the Rangers fans.
Caulker grew up in Feltham and is well aware how much the local derby against Chelsea means to the supporters.
He said: “You could hear that throughout the game. It’s just gutting for them that we couldn’t get the win or at least the draw.
“We are pleased that they can come to places like this and far from get embarrassed.”
Caulker is convinced he will avoid being relegated in consecutive seasons after going down last season with Cardiff City, and has pinpointed why the Rs have started to produce better performances in recent weeks.
“I think it’s personal pride,” he said. “We know we had too many performances which weren’t good enough. We needed to perform better for ourselves and for the fans.”
Caulker believes playing in a more settled back four alongside Richard Dunne, Mauricio Isla and Yun Suk-Young will help to pick up more points.
He added: “We are working on a lot of defensive stuff in training, just trying to stop shipping goals.
“Sometimes we are always changing and sometimes that can be difficult – players coming in and out. But I just think as a team we’ve got better
defensively and looked more solid and more hungry.”
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