This is not going to plan - is it QPR fans?

System failure?

After four games under Ian Holloway, QPR remain in search of several things- not least their best formation.

A move to a three-man defence, aping neighbours Chelsea, was welcomed by players but for several reasons, including injuries and suspensions, it's fallen by the wayside.

At Rotherham, Nedum Onuoha’s mobility was exposed at full-back and creatives Tjaronn Chery and Massimo Luongo looked unsure at times as to whether to join Conor Washington up front or stay in shape.

The balance of Ollie’s squad remains skewed.

He has already railed against the proliferation of number 10s on his staff- and plenty of work on the training ground is needed, although this will be hard with a packed festive schedule lying in wait.

Come in, number one

After the Ipswich reverse, Holloway rightly implored his side to be less reliant on keeper Alex Smithies to bail them out.

Once again, though, the Yorkshireman was required to keep Rangers in the game almost single-handedly.

Less than 60 seconds into the game, he had to repel a shot on target and saves from Forde, Brown and Newell followed either side of half-time another exceptional display from the stopper.

This will surely hasten negotiations for an extension to Smithies’ deal at Loftus Road, with reported outside interest only likely to heighten.

Price to pay

Once in a while you come up against a keeper that doesn’t look like he’s going to be beaten in a million years and Rotherham’s Lewis Price was one of those.

He denied Conor Washington early on with a flying save high to his left, and made a couple of excellent close-range stops from Tjarron Chery either side of half time.

Although Rangers’ chances on goal dried up in the second period, they were perhaps a tad unfortunate to be on the end of such a good display.

Festive sneer

With Christmas coming, there were few reasons for 872 QPR fans to be cheerful on the train home from South Yorkshire.

Three home wins so far won’t fill them with confidence they can impose themselves on Tuesday’s visitors: an in-form Derby County with five straight wins under their belts.

They still haven’t won having conceded the first goal in a game this term, which says something about fractured resolve.

That several of the travelling support took it upon themselves to berate their own players at the final whistle says all you need to know about the state of things at Loftus Road.