Leroy Fer admits he was pleased to be handed a more central role against Chelsea after being asked to play on the left of midfield against Liverpool and Aston Villa.

The 24-year-old played just off Charlie Austin at Stamford Bridge and hopes to have done enough to retain that position for the visit of Manchester City on Saturday.

He said: “I’m a central midfielder. In the last few weeks I played from the left because the coach likes me there, but I’m a central midfield player.”

It was Fer’s shot which led to Charlie Austin scoring his fifth goal of the season with a cheeky backheel and the Dutch international has been impressed by the former Burnley striker.

He added: “My shot wasn’t that good but his finish was really clever.

“You know that Charlie Austin is a sharp striker and he showed it again – he is so sharp in the six-yard box.”

Fer was disappointed the Rs failed to pick up their first away point of the season especially given the manner in which Chelsea grabbed their winning goal from the penalty spot, after Eden Hazard went down under a challenge from Eduardo Vargas before picking himself up and coverting the spot kick.

Fer said: “I thought it was a bit harsh.

“In the second half, we played really well and I think we deserved a point in the end.

“We played really well in the last three games.

“At home against Liverpool who isn’t the smallest club, against Aston Villa and now Chelsea away, we played really well.

“I’m confident we can take it into the next game against Manchester City and try to win that game.”

Fer is looking forward to competiting against world class players like Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero and believes at home Rangers will make life difficult for the Premier League champions.

Fer said: “I think teams like Manchester City and Liverpool are big teams. I think maybe they just think they are going to come and play at Loftus Road, but we are a strong team so we have to make it difficult.”

The former Norwich City man believes the turnaround in performances is down to team spirit.

He said: We get to know each other better because it was a new group. We are starting to get a good team together. I think that’s the difference. We know that we have a good group and we have to stick together and stay a team.”

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