McLEISH'S POST-QPR THOUGHTS
When it comes to football matches Alex McLeish likes to pick up results. He knows that sometimes, inevitably, every team loses games - but he much prefers winning and that's a mentality he's working hard to instil into all of his players.
That's why the Blues boss was so disappointed with the manner of his side's 1-0 defeat at the hands of Queens Park Rangers on a cold, wet and, at times, snowy evening at Loftus Road.
McLeish is not despairing - he is delighted with a start to the season that has yielded 30 points from 14 league games - but following the game in the capital there could be no doubting his disappointment.
Alex McLeishHe told bcfc.com: "I'm disappointed, not just with the fact that we lost but more with the manner of our performance. Early in the first half we controlled midfield and had a couple of excellent chances - shots from Cameron Jerome and Kevin Phillips that were both saved by Radek Cerny - so from that point of view it could have been very different if we had gone ahead at that stage, but we didn't and really the rest of the game was very disappointing.
"I was raging at full-time and I'm sure that the fans who came down here and once again gave us wonderful support were raging too, and I can understand that.
"With the players we have we should have been better but in the end it wasn't to be and what is important now is that we bounce straight back, starting with the game against Coventry at St. Andrew's next Monday."
The fact that the Coventry match has been put back 48 hours for television may well help Blues' cause with regards to getting injured players fit again.
The Loftus Road defeat was compounded by a groin injury picked up in the pre-match warm-up by Garry O'Connor and a hamstring problem suffered by Stuart Parnaby after just ten minutes of the game. Seb Larsson had earlier been omitted from the squad due to a groin injury and Blues also have Damien Johnson, Stephen Kelly, Radhi Jaidi and David Murphy in the treatment room.
A bright spot on a frustrating night at QPR was the debut of 19-year-old Jared Wilson, the Academy product getting his big chance when Parnaby was carried off.
McLeish said: "Jared is an excellent player and I've always said I'd have no problem putting him in the side at some point. He did very well when he came on and although all players can always keep learning and improving, I've no doubt he's got a very bright future in the game."
