Mark Warburton was left to rue a host of missed opportunities as injury-hit QPR’s playoff chances were dealt a huge blow in a 2-1 defeat to Preston.

An unfortunate Jimmy Dunne own goal, followed by Cameron Archer’s deflected strike put the hosts two goals up, with Andre Gray’s penalty in injury-time came too late to mount a comeback at Deepdale.

The defeat was Rangers fifth in a row, a shocking run of form that leaves them now six points behind Sheffield United in sixth, the final play-off spot.

Warburton stopped short of conceding defeat in the race for the top six, but he recognised his team cannot afford to drop anymore points in their five remaining games.

He said: “This is a strong group and they are devastated in the dressing room. They knew what we had to do.

“We needed four, possibly five wins (to claim a play-off spot). Now we may need to win all remaining five.”

What made the loss even harder to take for the QPR boss was the number of quality chances they missed – Hoops had 15 shots and seven on target over the course of the 90 minutes.

“It's very frustrating,” he said. “I'm pleased that we created so many chances. We created three clear-cut chances in the first half, and we have to score.

“It's as simple as that, we've just got to score. Overall, we had four or five outstanding chances and a few half chances, and that's the positive, but we have to take them.”

Rangers had reasons to feel aggrieved even before kick-off, when veteran keeper Keiren Westwood was added to a staggering list of absentees that included four stoppers already.

“Sheffield United was a tough evening in terms of demands on the squad,” he said.

“Rob Dickie is out for the season with a hamstring injury, Yoann has a swollen knee, Jeff Hendrick has a tight hamstring, and that's the same with Lee Wallace.”

But Warburton praised 20-year-old Murphy Mahoney who stepped up at the last minute for his senior debut.

“In the warm-up Keiren Westwood had to come in,” he added. “He had been unwell, but we thought he was over it as he felt better this morning but when he started to warm up he felt ill again and he was violently sick in the changing room.

“Five goalkeepers out is somewhat unprecedented, but young Murphy [Mahoney] stepped up. Young Murph did great.

“He has shown quality, he has shown desire, he has shown an honest approach and he stepped up.

“There is nothing better when you are challenged to go and deliver, and that's exactly what Murphy did. I was delighted for him, and he deserves so much credit.”