QPR's Promising Start: Cautious Optimism from Ian McCullough

Queens Park Rangers’ encouraging start has impressed long-time fan and journalist Ian McCullough – but he insists this is no time for wild claims about a revival.

QPR have opened the season with wins over Blackburn, Portsmouth and Bolton, results that have eased some of the anxiety around the club after last year’s struggles. For McCullough, the most telling sign of progress came in the weekend victory at Blackburn.

“At Blackburn at the weekend, they won the game through the strength of the bench,” he said, highlighting a key difference from last season. QPR were able to change the game with their substitutes, something they rarely managed in the previous campaign.

“They’ve got a real quality on the bench that they didn’t have last season. In that kind of side the club has progressed,” McCullough added, pointing to the depth and competition for places that have been missing in recent years.

But he was just as quick to pour a little cold water on any early-season euphoria. The fixture list has been kind, and he believes that context matters.

“As I keep saying with QPR, they’ve played three teams really that they should be beating – Blackburn, Portsmouth, Bolton. Had they lost any of those games, questions would be asked.”

For now, the questions have eased. The real test is whether this stronger bench and early momentum hold when the opposition gets tougher.