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The Hoops' new boss has got off to the worst possible start

Don Goodman believes that Queens Park Rangers must find a win by any means possible in order to ease the pressure on Julien Stephan after a "woeful" start to the season.

The Frenchman was eventually drafted in as Marti Cifuentes' replacement at Loftus Road in late June following a long-standing managerial search, and there was genuine belief amongst the Rangers faithful that their side could make strides of progress in this season's Championship table.

However, the early signs have been extremely worrying despite an extremely active transfer window in which several shrewd transfer dealings have been made, and the 44-year-old has already become the subject of pressure just five games in to his reign in W12.

Don Goodman issues Julien Stephan, Queens Park Rangers verdict amid "woeful" start to the season

Stephan came to the West London side with a highly-respectable CV that saw him take charge of Rennes on two separate occasions, with a spell at fellow Ligue 1 club, RC Strasbourg, sandwiched in between.

After being the man that had previously led the Brittany-based club to their first ever stint in the knockout stages of European competition, optimism was high in these parts that Rangers could, at least, finish in the second-tier's top-half for the first time since 2020/21.

Yet, despite recruiting the likes of Kwame Poku - who has since been sidelined - Richard Kone, Amadou Mbengue alongside the returning Isaac Hayden and Koki Saito, it has been a disastrous start, which was compounded by a 7-1 defeat to Coventry City at the CBS Arena last time out, making him the first Hoops boss in nearly a decade to go winless in their first four competitive outings.

Unsurprisingly, when speaking exclusively to Football League World, Goodman believes that Stephan's men must find their first win of the campaign by any means necessary and sooner rather than later.

"I think, when you're a new manager at any level of football, it's really important to get results on the board early doors. And certainly, if not results, then good performances that fans can clearly see," Goodman told FLW.

"That's the worry for Queens Park Rangers," he claimed. "Not only have they not got results, their performances have been pretty flat and woeful.

"Yes, the pressure is no doubt on (Julien Stephan). As I said, they got totally dominated by Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Cup - albeit they made a lot of changes. But, other than the opening day of the season at home to Preston, they've been dominated by Watford and now been humiliated by Coventry City," Goodman stated.

"It will be all about getting a win for Queens Park Rangers, and it doesn't have to be a pretty one. They just desperately need a win to take the pressure off the manager."

Queens Park Rangers will hope for immediate Coventry City reaction vs Charlton Athletic

The opening weeks of the campaign couldn't have gotten any worse for Rangers, and it was no surprise when a large proportion of supporters made an early move for the exits at the CBS Arena with their side 5-0 down at the interval.

Stephan admitted post-match that his side "will react for sure next week (vs Charlton Athletic)", and that it was the "first time in my career I have to deal with a score like this, but in football you learn a lot".

He will have no doubt learned a lot about his new chargers in recent weeks, particularly from a defensive point of view in which 10 goals have already been conceded in three Championship games, as well as four errors leading to opposition shots or goals.

Those at Loftus Road will be expecting an imminent reaction against Charlton on Saturday, although the Addicks have proven a tough nut to crack in the opening weeks of the season, conceding their first league goal of the campaign last week through a sublime curling effort from Leicester City's Abdul Fatawu after shutting out Watford and Bristol City.

Failure to get off the mark ahead of the international break in the wins' column would only add to the early-season concerns, and could mean that Stephan would potentially be on borrowed time if his side were unable to turn the tide following the upcoming two-week fixture gap.