“We’ve got to be…” – Exclusive: Gareth Ainsworth reveals his main focus at QPR this season
Improving his side’s defence is at the top of Ainsworth’s priority list for the 2023/24 campaign.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Gareth Ainsworth’s main focus is improving Queens Park Rangers’ defence.
- The Championship side conceded 71 goals last season and had a poorer defensive record than relegated side Reading.
- Quality and depth will be required in QPR’s quest to improve defensively during the upcoming 2023/24 campaign.
Queens Park Rangers manager Gareth Ainsworth’s main focus is improving his side’s defence, he has revealed in an exclusive interview with Football League World.
The R’s need to be better in many departments if they want to improve on their 20th-place finish last season, with their poor performances and results almost resulting in relegation to League One.
Thanks to a Reading side who had six points deducted, they managed to remain afloat in the Championship in the end, but big changes will need to have been made this summer to turn things around at Loftus Road.
Considering the strength of the division during the upcoming 2023/24 campaign, the West London side are arguably at risk of being relegated unless they improve considering and Ainsworth certainly won’t be underestimating the size of the task he faces in his quest to get things back on track.
What key area does Gareth Ainsworth want to improve?
The second-tier side certainly have some of the players required to be a threat in the final third.
Lyndon Dykes can be a regular goalscorer when in top form, playmaker Ilias Chair can be a real asset and so can wide attacker Chris Willock when he is in his rhythm.
Summer signings Taylor Richards and Paul Smyth may also be very useful in the final third and these players could guide the R’s to success.
Their defence is a key area of focus for Ainsworth at the moment though, who told FLW exclusively: “We’ve got to be more solid. That’s my big thing this season. I want us to be more solid. I want us to be defensively sound because we have amazing players going forward.
“Some of the stuff, believe me, is very difficult to coach because they are so natural at what they do.
“But if it takes a ball in behind to go and score a goal and win a game 1-0, I’ll take that all day. And if it takes a 12-pass move, I’ll take that all day.
“Winning football [games] is what I want to do and I want to get QPR back used to winning rather than getting beat which was the norm last season.”
Can QPR improve defensively during the 2023/24 campaign?
The R’s were extremely poor offensively for a large chunk of 2022/23, scoring just 44 league goals in 46 games.
But they also defended poorly, conceding 71, which was the second-most of any club in the division last term.
In terms of how they can improve defensively next season, they have a better chance of conceding fewer goals if they have consistency and that means sticking with the same manager if possible.
They also need to ensure they don’t just have enough quality in defence, but they also have depth.
Asmir Begovic has come in as a suitable replacement for Seny Dieng and he could help to organise the defence with the experience he has.
