Ian Holloway was adamant that only tight margins prevented his QPR side from getting the points at Preston after suffering a 1-0 defeat at Deepdale.

Rangers' form has been nothing short of wretched with just one point from the last 15 available, a far fall from their run of two defeats in ten over September and October.

But Jordan Hugill's late strike further soured the mood of Holloway too, the only goal in an otherwise tense game.

It was little wonder the manager cut a frustrated figure come full-time, though he felt his side were not to blame for the loss despite Jamie Mackie's red card for an alleged stamp.

“It’s tiny margins in this game,” he said. “We didn’t get a lot wrong.

“I felt Jamie went for a ball on a slippy pitch. How that is deemed as a deliberate stamp, I find it hard to believe.

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“And I thought we more than deserved something out of this game, probably more than some of the other away performances. 

“I thought our concentration and our structure worked well. Unfortunately it’s very fine margins and I’m a little bit sore right now.”

As if that wasn't bad enough, QPR finished the game with nine men as Alex Baptiste saw red in more ways than one.

And with Leeds United to come on Saturday, the challenges hardly get any easier.

“At the end Alex swore at his mate who is one of the Preston lads, not at the referee," said Holloway of the second red card.

“Alex was so frustrated he couldn’t shake hands with one of his best friends! He didn’t even know he was booked the second time.”