It’s been a pretty good week for  Queens Park Rangers’ Luke Freeman, having signed a new deal on Monday.

The winger celebrated his new contract by heading home a last-minute equaliser away at Rotherham United on Tuesday evening.

QPR sit ninth in the league and are just three points off the play-offs, a remarkable feat considering they lost all of their first four matches at the start of the season.

And Freeman has hailed the impact of manager Steve McClaren who has overseen their upturn in form after a shaky start to the year when speaking to QPR's official site.

The winger has been an ever-present for the London club this year and has three goals to his name, and he has sounded out the former England man as the catalyst behind their revival and his extended stay.

Freeman said: “It was a tough start to the season but kicking on like we have done made this decision [to sign a new contract] even easier for me.

“We want to be tough and hard to beat, and I feel we have got the balance, so we just need to make sure we keep the momentum going.”

“He [Steve McClaren] was massive in this decision and is probably one of the best managers I’ve played under - the same goes for his staff,” the winger added.

“I think all the boys here would agree with that – and you can see it given the direction that we’re heading in."

QPR take on struggling Hull City this weekend when they return home to Loftus Road after two successive away games.

The verdict

There was a lot of ridicule when Steve McClaren first walked through the doors at Loftus Road.

And after the first four games of the season, that was on the way to being justified - but he never gave up, never gave in and worked hard to put things right, which is now paying dividends.

Luke Freeman signing a new deal is a real testament to the job the former Middlesbrough and Derby boss has done so far.

From relegation fodder to a potential play-off place is 19 matches is a pretty good turn around.

The winger is right to talk up his boss and laud his and their progress because his ideas are getting through to the players and it’s all paying off.