Queens Park Rangers' impressive run of form came to an end at the weekend with a 1-0 defeat away to Blackburn Rovers.

The R's had gone unbeaten in their last five league games and had won four of their last six games before the clash at Ewood Park on Saturday afternoon.

Bradley Dack's late penalty condemned the Hoops to their 7th defeat of the campaign, a result that leaves Steve McClaren's men sitting 11th in the Championship standings.

There is no reason why the West London club can't secure a playoff place this term - they started the season in the worst possible fashion after conceding 13 goals in their opening four league games.

But their upturn in form has meant that some players have been left disappointed with their lack of game-time, none other than Darnell Furlong.

Over the years, the 23-year old has been highly thought of at Loftus Road, but has been limited to just one appearance this season, coming off the bench in the 87th minute at the weekend.

Here, we take a look at three reasons why McClaren must shift the right-back out in January.

As alluded to before, Furlong is highly regarded at Loftus Road, after a few impressive spells out on loan.

The 23-year old endured promising loan spells on loan at League One and Two sides Swindon, Northampton and Cambridge over the past three years, and he should be looking to move to a upper League One club in January.

He has played around six minutes of football this season and needs game time desperately.

After signing a new three-year deal at Loftus Road at the start of this season, Furlong is bound to be on decent wages, so his departure in January could free up funds to strengthen the squad in preparation for the second half of the season.

Due to financial problems, the R's made eight permanent signings in the summer all on a free transfer, so any expenditure for Furlong in January will be welcomed.

The last thing QPR need at the minute is unhappy players to affect squad morale, as the R's have proven that they can form a promotion push this season with some impressive results.

Furlong may not be the type of player to complain about his lack of game-time, but the R's will be running the risk of affecting squad morale if they see a young player like Furlong frozen out of the first-team.