QPR made 10 changes for cup clash, but Bees manager denies that gave his a mental boost

Queens Park Rangers making 10 changes for their Carabao Cup loss on Tuesday did not give Brentford a psychological boost, according to Bees boss Dean Smith.

Only Alex Baptiste retained his starting spot from the win at home to Hull City in the Championship on Saturday for QPR’s cup clash with their local rivals.

Despite a Darnell Furlong goal at the end of the first half, Rs crashed to a 4-1 loss, but Smith says the number of changes made by home boss Ian Holloway did not give his team a mental advantage.

“It didn’t really give us much of a boost. We made five or six and we couldn’t make any more because of our injury list, but we would have liked to.”

Smith was also keen to praise Holloway for taking the time to talk to Brentford’s Ryan Woods, who suffered a recent bereavement.

He added: “I must credit Ian, he came into the dressing room after to send his best wishes to Ryan.”