MICHAEL Doughty was understandably proud to make his Premier League debut on Tuesday night at Sunderland, but the QPR youth product knows there is a lot of hard work ahead as he chases more first-team appearances.





“It’s something I have been working towards for a long while and I was just delighted that the manager showed faith in me and trusted me to go out there and do a job for the team,” Doughty told www.qpr.co.uk.





“It was an experience that I will always remember.”





The 22-year-old midfielder was brought on by caretaker manager Chris Ramsey in the closing stages and played his part as QPR controlled possession, having taken a 2-0 lead in the first half.





And Doughty says the clear instructions given by Ramsey made it easier when he entered the pitch at the Stadium of Light.





“He told me to go out there and do my job,” Doughty explained.





“Before the game, he stressed the importance of the way the team was going to play so we were all fully aware of our individual jobs.





“He outlined our preparation step by step, position by position, with all the players.





“He reminded me to carry out the things we had spoken about during the week. By that stage, I was well rehearsed on it all. I knew what shape I had to be in, and tactically where I needed to be. When I got on the ball he encouraged me to play and enjoy it.





“We all knew our jobs and, as a collective, the type of game we wanted to play. I took that all on board and tried to carry that out to the best of my ability.





“I managed to get on the ball a bit and affect the game. I had a lot of confidence because the manager put his faith in me to go out there and have those minutes on the pitch.





“He has been great to me and I am really grateful to him.





“I am obviously delighted but fully aware it was a 10-minute cameo. With his guidance and support, I am now looking to push for a more regular place and hopefully have more experiences like that.”





Doughty has been at QPR since the age of 14, and has featured at all age groups for the club.





His last outing for the first-team – his QPR debut – came four years ago in an FA Cup encounter at Blackburn, and Doughty admitted: “It has been a difficult road.





“I wouldn’t say it has been a linear path to this point. I have had personal issues and there have been changes at the club. I guess I have always had that goal in my mind that I wanted to reach. I am delighted to get there.





“By no means have I achieved anything yet. It was a small personal goal, and now I am looking to establish myself under a new regime which promotes the young players and gives people like me hope.”





Les Ferdinand, QPR’s Director of Football, recently spoke about the work he is doing to see more academy players feature for the first team, and Doughty said: “For whatever reason, the club hasn’t had a great conversion rate from promising academy players to first-team players.





“It has been well-documented that there has been a change in ethos and a change in philosophy here, and that can only benefit players like myself.





“It’s important to stress that you need to be ready, you need to be capable. If the players aren’t there, then they won’t be used. Hopefully I have shown, for a short period at least, that I am there on merit and it is up to me now to try and produce consistent performances, work hard in training and show the manager that I am hungry and ready.”



