QPR boss Mark Warburton has admitted his side are hurt following their weekend defeat to West Brom, and he expects another challenging match when they travel to face Cardiff City on Wednesday night.

The Rs suffered a 2-0 defeat against Slaven Bilic's unbeaten West Brom side on Saturday afternoon with Nathan Ferguson and Matheus Pereira finding the net to end QPR's four-game winning run that had extended back to late August.

QPR had sealed league victories over Wigan, Sheffield Wednesday, Luton and Millwall in the lead-up to this match, but the Baggies proved to be too strong for the West London side with victory seeing them move to the top of the league.

Warburton has now confessed that Saturday's defeat was painful for his side, with the fact they had previously won four league games on the bounce counting for very little in the aftermath of such a defeat.

“It doesn’t matter if you have won the previous four, five or six in a row, you always want to make sure you win your next one," he told the QPR club website.

“The fact of the matter is we have lost a game of football and it hurts. If it doesn’t hurt then you shouldn’t be in the game. The good thing is we have a very swift chance to make amends.”

The result means QPR are now sitting ninth in the table having collected 16 points from Warburton's first nine league matches in charge, and the manager will now be looking for a response when his make the trip to South Wales on Wednesday night.

Cardiff have endured an indifferent return to the second tier following their relegation from the Premier League, but they will be heading into this fixture in reasonably good spirits after securing a late point away at Hull in their last outing.

The Bluebirds are unbeaten at home so far this campaign having picked up 10 of their 13 points while playing in the Welsh capital, and Warburton is well aware of the task his side must overcome in order to return to winning ways.

“We know what we face,” he added. “It is another very, very tough encounter, they are very good at what they do and are very well managed. We will have to be at it."

The Verdict

QPR were starting to build a real run together prior to the West Brom match so the defeat will be hard for them to take, but there should be no shame in losing to Albion who have looked impressive so far this season.

It was evident that Albion were a class above the Rs during the match on Saturday, and Bilic's side look certain to be challenging for promotion back to the Premier League by the end of the season.

QPR should avoid dwelling on this defeat for too long as many other sides in the division are also likely to suffer the same fate against the Baggies this season, and they now have a great chance to put things right against Cardiff on Wednesday.

The Bluebirds have looked solid at home but QPR's recent winning run saw them secure victories away from home against Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall, so there is no reason why they can't come out on top against Warnock's side.

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