QPR boss Mark Warburton admitted his side had 'won ugly' after a late Luke Amos goal condemned Championship rivals Derby County to relegation.

Amos had an early goal disallowed when keeper Kieren Westwood's long kick was headed on by Lyndon Dykes to the former Tottenham man, who was adjudged to have been offside after finding the net.

But he found the target again late on when Ilias Chair played the ball in from the left to Dykes, who laid to the unmarked Amos, who finishing calmly past Ryan Allsop.

The 1-0 victory at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium ended a six-game winless streak for Warburton's men and kept them in the hunt for a play-off spot.

And Warburton said: "We won ugly. They were the better team in the second half.

"They were fresh from a good win against Fulham, full of adrenaline and they had to win to stay up. We knew what we faced.

"In the first half we had some chances but didn't take them and then in the second half we were second best in terms of having the ball.

"But they were always going to be commit bodies forward and take risks, so we could hurt them on the counter and that was the case."

Warburton paid tribute to opposite number Wayne Rooney, who saw his Rams side deducted 21 points after going into administration and sent down to League One after fellow strugglers Reading fought back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 with Swansea.

He added: "He's probably experienced more as a manager in these nine to 12 months than most experience in nine or 12 years.

"All credit to Wayne and his staff for keeping a squad together, keeping the belief and producing the level of performances they have home and away.

"They deserve so much credit for that. There's so much going on that has been out of their control, but they've maintained their standards throughout."

Derby's joint administrators have named Chris Kirchner as the preferred bidder for the club and entered a period of exclusivity aimed at ending a protracted takeover process.

And Rooney, England and Manchester United's record goalscorer, said: "We know we'd be safe without the penalties we've had.

"This is where we've been left by the previous owner and we've been trying to pick up the pieces from that and trying to pull off something really special. We've got close and haven't managed to do it.

""I want to rebuild this club. But the takeover has to happen. If it doesn't, I'm really unsure of my future and the club's future. This takeover has to happen quick."