Tyler Roberts outlines how QPR can emulate Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United | OneFootball

QPR forward Tyler Roberts has suggested that maintaining constant high standards can help the Championship club emulate Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United this term.

Roberts was part of the Whites squad that won promotion to the Premier League under Bielsa but has fallen out of favour at Elland Road since and joined the R’s on a season-long loan earlier this summer.

The 23-year-old made his first start and home debut against Blackpool yesterday but despite looking bright, was unable to help the hosts avoid a 1-0 defeat with Josh Bowler’s first-half strike the difference.

In yesterday’s matchday programme, Roberts revealed he was confident that the R’s could challenge at the top of the Championship this term and outlined how the squad could emulate Bielsa’s Leeds.

He said: “I think that the main thing we had at Leeds was standards – there wasn’t a lot of shouting and stuff but everyone knew that every day in training, every point and every match counts from the beginning.

“The Championship is up and down but we had that hunger to fight for every single point. Because we’d been in a good position and blown up the year before, when things started to go wrong we really had to come together as a squad and persist in our style of play.

“In the end we showed our experience by winning all of the last three games and finishing 10 points clear.  definitely had learning experiences then and I’m confident we can be right up there this season.

“Last season, before Christmas, I know QPR looked on course to be promoted and the manager’s drummed into us that we need to be bang on every minute of every game. It’s about having belief and when things go down you have to come together as a group and fight for every point.”

Mark Warburton departed after his side fell short of the play-offs last season, with former Aston Villa and Rangers assistant manager Mick Beale taking charge.

The R’s have taken four points from their first four league games under Beale but will feel that had they been more clinical, they could have at least one more win under their belts.

The Verdict

It may have been a summer of change at Loftus Road but the ultimate target is still promotion to the Premier League and Roberts knows what it takes to get there.

Though he didn’t play a central role in Leeds’ success, his experience will still be very useful and what we saw from him against Blackpool showed he could be a key influence on the pitch.

Beale will have his own ideas about how his side should approach things but looking to emulate Bielsa’s Leeds in some regard would make sense.

Judging from what Roberts has said about the manager drumming into the squad that they need “to be bang on every minute of every game”, there are some similarities between the two.

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