It has been an atrocious start to the Championship season for Queens Park Rangers, losing all three of their opening games. 

Saturday's 7-1 hammering at the hands of West Brom followed defeats to Preston and Sheffield United and leaves them stranded at the bottom of the table.

Something needs to change at Loftus Road and with a transfer embargo awaiting them in January, it is hard to see how much can be done in the remaining weeks of the loan window alone.

In all honesty, the seeds were sewn for this terrible start back in May.

What is the problem? 

It might sound brutal, but the problem lies in the dugout and is called Steve McClaren.

Eyebrows were rightly raised at his appointment back in May.

His recent record in the second tier has shown that he is not the man to lead QPR out of the mess that they find themselves in.

In terms of win percentages, you could argue he is more than capable. A 53% win ratio and 44% are respectable ones during his two spells at Derby County.

But even then he could not get a very strong side promoted whilst in a very stable club.

He showed at Newcastle United that he is no good at dealing with a club in crisis, racking up a win percentage of just 22% from 31 games in charge and leaving them doomed to relegation from the Premier League.

The solution

It seems incredibly harsh at this stage, but the QPR board must sack their manager.

Things have started badly and under McClaren, they rarely turn around before it is too late. Had Newcastle acted sooner they may never have been relegated from the Premier League.

QPR now find themselves at a similar crossroads and they must swallow their pride, admit their mistake and change their manager.