Rs boss vented his anger at team’s display after home loss in Championship

Queens Park Rangers manager Ian Holloway was left stunned by the poor defending from his team in a 5-2 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

Lee Tomlin scored a brace for Forest, before Joe Lolley struck for the visitors as they took a 3-0 lead at Loftus Road with just over 50 minutes played.

Massimo Luongo pulled one back for the Rs in the 68th minute, but Matty Cash restored the three goal lead for Aitor Karanka’s men eight minutes later.

Matt Smith scored the second for QPR in the 78th minute, but a stoppage-time strike from visiting forward Ben Brereton rounded out the scoring.

It was a disappointing defeat for the Rs and Holloway could not hide his defeat at the full-time whistle.

“We started so edgy it was unreal,” said the 54-year-old, whose side lost 4-0 at Forest in November.

“I could almost feel people hesitating when the ball dropped instead of going and snapping onto it like we have been - and we’ve done all season, to be fair, particularly at home.

“Everything we talk about, nobody did. I’ve watched all the goals and it’s horrendous - the same mistakes for every single one.

“It’s inexplicable because we practised it yesterday and they did it very well. It’s all about producing it in the arena.

“The lads who’ve been doing really well for us didn’t have a good game. They didn’t do what they’ve been doing. They didn’t press and close.

“The basic principles we’ve talked about while I’ve been here, they’ve normally done really well. That was as bad as I’ve seen.

“How many times you seen anybody, with the ball squared to them, and my team not in their face like a crazed raccoon around a bin?

“Every goal I’ve just watched, the ball was squared or played slightly forward and then that fella could play forward again.

“He wasn’t forced to play square or backwards. He wasn’t attacked in an aggressive way.”

The clinical display emphatically ended Forest’s goal drought — they had failed to score in eight of their previous 10 league matches.

Karanka insisted: “I wasn’t concerned. One day it will arrive — and today has been the best example.

“The team has been aggressive on the pitch and, when we have chances, some days we will miss but some days we will score.

“I told the players before the game that today should be a reflection of the improvement of the team.

“There has been an improvement and today there was the perfect mixture; we were organised on the pitch, aggressive and confident. It’s the way that we have to keep playing.”