The absence of west London derbies in 2022/23 has given QPR extra motivation to join Brentford and Fulham in the Premier League, George Thomas has exclusively told Football League World.
With Fulham promoted from the Championship last term and the Bees going up via the play-offs in the year before, the R’s will not face their local rivals this term unless they are drawn against them in a later round of the FA Cup.
The west London pair have made strong starts to the season in the top flight so the Hoops’ only chance of a guaranteed derby next term could well be securing promotion themselves.
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Speaking exclusively to FLW after completing CopyBet’s Multi-Sport Challenge, Thomas admitted that the prospect of not facing either Fulham or Brentford this season was extra motivation for the squad.
He explained: “Of course. In the last couple of years, the west London derbies are games that you always get up for. Obviously, you’re up for every game but there’s a little bit more on those games.
“Not having many this year, it makes you want to get to where they are at the moment and I’m sure with the squad we’ve got we’ll give that a good go.”
The R’s returned to Championship action after nearly a month on Sunday as they were beaten 3-0 by league leaders Burnley at Loftus Road.
They’ve now taken just one point from their last six games, including a five-game winless run before the World Cup break, but speaking to FLW last week, Thomas was optimistic that the mid-season pause can be useful for them.
He said: “It’s never happened before so it was different. The games were coming thick and fast so a little break was nice.
“It’s never happened before. We’ve had time to practice, we’ve had two weeks of training, so it’s almost like a mini pre-season so we’ll see how that fares over the next few weeks.”
The R’s will hope the appointment of Neil Critchley, who was confirmed as their new head coach after the Burnley game yesterday, can help bring an upturn in fortunes.
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