QPR may be having serious regrets over Marti Cifuentes decision: View | OneFootball

The decision to extend Cifuentes' contract may be weighing on the QPR board's mind at this point, with results not improving.

Queens Park Rangers suffered a serious setback this past weekend, with their 2-1 loss against Portsmouth plunging them into deeper trouble.

The R's looked set to enjoy a decent season, having impressed under Marti Cifuentes for a decent chunk of the 2023/24 campaign following Gareth Ainsworth's departure.

With QPR having a seemingly talented manager at the helm, retaining some of their most talented players and bringing in some shrewd additions during the summer window, few people would have been expecting them to be in a big relegation battle already.

Cardiff City secured a thumping victory in a 12:30pm kick-off on Saturday to lift themselves off the bottom of the table - and that put the pressure on QPR and Pompey to produce a result at Loftus Road.

The R's made a good start to the game, with some hesitancy at the back allowing Karamoko Dembele to put the hosts ahead in the ninth minute.

His excellent lob looked set to put Cifuentes' side in a good position to go on and win the game, against a side that had previously failed to win a single league game all season.

But Pompey showed real spirit and responded well and equalised in the 18th minute through Freddie Potts.

Poor defending proved to be a theme for all three goals, with Morgan Fox's lack of awareness resulting in him conceding a penalty shortly before the hour mark.

Callum Lang made no mistake from the spot - and the visitors were able to hold on to the lead to retain the three points.

This result has consigned the R's to a place at the bottom of the Championship table - and the club may be starting to regret a decision they made not too long ago.

QPR may be regretting extending Marti Cifuentes' contract

QPR looked to have enjoyed a brilliant night on September 30 when they announced contract extensions for key centre-back Jack Clarke-Salter, manager Cifuentes and his assistant Xavi Calm.

On the same night, they also announced the permanent signing of Dembele, and thus far, it's looking as though he will prove to be a very good permanent addition.

Unfortunately, his contributions haven't been able to help QPR escape the relegation zone, with the R's currently sitting in 24th.

QPR weren't exactly in the best position when he signed a new deal, but it looked to be a good decision at the time, because that extension could have given the West London side's manager some real confidence.

But their only win of the season so far came against a struggling Luton Town side.

They have also all three of their games since Cifuentes put pen to paper on a new deal, where they have lost in winnable games against Hull City (H), Derby County (A) and Pompey (H).

Now, the board may be worried that they made the wrong decision to hand their manager an extension.

From those games, they should have been looking to win at least six out of nine points, but they have left all of those matches empty-handed.

Cifuentes has managed to turn things around at Loftus Road before - and he has the potential to do the same again.

At this stage, QPR's board simply have to back him after handing him a new deal and considering he did fairly well last term, he deserves the opportunity to try and rescue the R's.

At the moment, the R's board probably are regretting handing him a new contract, just in case they need to make a change.

The extension is likely to make a compensation package more expensive, but writing him off at this point would be a dangerous thing to do.

They take on Coventry City tomorrow night - and with Mark Robins' side struggling - that could be an opportunity for the R's to capitalise.