Mackie: QPR should be pushing for the play-offs this season

Jamie Mackie wants QPR to push for promotion this season Archant

EXCLUSIVE: QPR forward Jamie Mackie has rejected talk that consolidation should be the club’s main aim this season, insisting they can push for promotion to the Premier League.

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Rangers’ return to the Championship ended in disappointment as they lost their opening fixture 2-0 at Charlton on Saturday, despite Charlie Austin and Matt Phillips featuring in the starting XI.

But Mackie, who was making his second debut for the club after re-signing earlier this summer, says Chris Ramsey’s men can challenge towards the top of the table.

He told the Times: “QPR have lost too many games in recent times. The winning mentality at this football club needs to be rediscovered. We’ve got to be looking towards pushing for the play-offs.

“We don’t want to be a mediocre team whose aim is to just consolidate. There’s no point going into a season thinking we are just going to do OK.

“Obviously we’ve got to be realistic as it’s hard to go down and bounce back at the first attempt, but why can’t we be up there?

“We’ve got good ability in the squad, especially in attacking areas, but first and foremost we’ve got to shut the back door and make sure we do well as a team.”

Rangers face Cardiff City on Saturday at Loftus Road (kick-off 5.15pm), a side well known to the Rs after many a battle over the years – most notably when they both fought for promotion to the Premier League during the 2010-11 season.

Mackie added: “They’re big games to play in, it’s our first home game of the season and playing against Cardiff always means a lot to our fans – and they’re good spectacles, too.

“They’ve got good fans, like ours, and always create a feisty atmosphere, so it’s a good game to be playing in and an opportunity for us to change the tide early on.

“We’ve got to regroup and make sure our heads don’t go down. There’s a long season ahead. There are 45 games left, but we need to learn quickly that you get punished if you don’t do the basics right in this league, which we didn’t do against Charlton.

“As a squad we’re desperate to do well, but that’s easier said than done. If the fundamentals are right I’m sure we’ll have a productive season, though.”