QPR manager Mark Warburton admitted he was lost for words in the dressing room after his side lost 2-1 at home to Bristol City despite dominating much of the game.
Rob Dickie headed Rangers ahead and it was becoming a totally one-sided match before Nahki Wells equalised five minutes before half-time.
Adam Nagy put the Robins ahead early in the second half and they held on despite more sustained pressure from the hosts.
“For the first time as a manager in many years, I didn’t know what to say to the players,” Warburton said.
“You can’t rollock them because they were so good for such a long period of the game against a very good Bristol City team.
“We’ve got a lot of young players. What do you say to them after that? They were so, so good for long periods – and right to the death.”
It was a second successive defeat for Rangers, who also lost 2-1 to Brentford last Friday and are 17th in the Sky Bet Championship table.
But they have plenty of ability going forward and Warburton has urged his players not to get discouraged.
He said: “We created chance after chance. We did it against Brentford and again tonight. We’ve dropped six points when we really played some excellent football.
“They’ve got to build that belief in how good they are and how good they can be.
“The players deserve a lot of credit. They’ve worked hard on the training pitch and in games.
“It’s a group of players who are working hard and need to understand how good they are now and how good they’re going to be in a year’s time.”
Bristol City boss Dean Holden felt a half-time change made all the difference for his side.
Jay Dasilva was given a torrid time by QPR winger Bright Osayi-Samuel and was replaced by Tommy Rowe, who fared better at left-back.
“We got too stretched in the first half and it can become frustrating when you don’t get as much of the ball as you’d like,” Holden said.
“In the second half it was just about making sure you have more of a solid block so the gaps aren’t as big.
“Bright I thought was outstanding. I’ve watched him for a number of years now and he’s a top player in this division.
“I think Bright was getting the ball a bit too easily and he’s a very good player in this division when he gets the ball at his feet.
“It was also about stopping the supply into him. We did that more in the second half and he was then relatively quiet.
“The boys have put their bodies on the line. You don’t want to concede that second goal because you know that then the game can get away from you.”
