Caretaker boss John Eustace found some room for optimism after his QPR side succumbed to a devastating 2-0 defeat at Derby, with both goals coming in stoppage time.

Luke Freeman was penalised for a foul on Jayden Bogle in the area in the third minute of added time, and on-loan Liverpool midfielder Harry Wilson slotted home the penalty for the Rams.

The Wales international then cruelly doubled the home side’s advantage with a goal on the break, 11 minutes after the normal 90.

Eustace admitted he wasn’t convinced Freeman’s challenge warranted the spot-kick, but chose to focus on what he regarded as an extremely unfortunate defeat.

 “I think you can see it’s not a penalty, but these things happen. I’m just very, very proud of the performance. The boys were fantastic and deserve full credit.

“I thought the game plan, the way we set up, the way we played – it was spot on. I’m very, very proud of the group,” said Eustace.

Defeat at Pride Park signalled Eustace’s third defeat in five games since taking temporary charge at QPR at the start of the month, but the former Watford captain believes his side’s displays have been encouraging since a 0-0 draw at Millwall in his second game.

And defeat for Rotherham at home to Birmingham secured QPR’s place in the Championship next season, and Eustace said he was happy to have achieved his target.

“In the five games that I’ve taken, we’ve had four fantastic performances,” he said.

“The Millwall game was key – it showed we could fight and scrap and I think the boys have shown they want to fight for the club and are very proud to wear the shirts.

“It means a lot. The club asked me to help keep the team up and now we’ve achieved that. There’s a lot of positives to take and going forward next season it should be good.”