Michael Beale admitted his relief at sealing all three points as QPR rose to the summit of the Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic at Loftus Road. 

First-half strikes from Sam Field and Leon Balogun either side of a Nathan Broadhead leveller for the Tics was enough for the R’s to cap a testing week in best possible manner. 

The build-up to the match had been dominated by talks of Beale taking the vacant manager’s role at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but the 42-year-old turned down the offer to stay in West London. 

And with the Hoops flying-high in search of a return to the Premier League after nearly a decade away, Beale was pleased to put the drama of the week behind him with a win despite a sub-par performance from his players. 

“It was a tough game, it’s been a long week,” said Beale. “I said I didn’t care if we win ugly – I didn’t mean literally.  

“We weren’t at our free-flowing best, we lacked a bit of energy at times. 

“We’ve put a lot of energy into the last two games and to get two home wins was the most important thing. 

“This week has been difficult. We played Wednesday, it was a late night and there’s been a lot obviously going on.  

“Then into Thursday you can’t do anything, yesterday [Friday] we did very little because we needed the energy for today.” 

Speculation was rife that the former Sao Paulo coach would swap West London for the West Midlands for a move to the Premier League, only for Beale to publicly pledge his future to the Rs. 

The Loftus Road faithful responded with applause as Beale and his players walked round the pitch after the win on Saturday in a show of appreciation, something that is reciprocated by the manager. 

“The feeling is mutual,” added Beale. “I came here to do a job, I’m 17 games into it. 

“I spoke to seven players to come here this summer, I had to convince staff to stay, one or two players to stay, I’m just delighted with the way everything is going.  

"I'm flattered to be linked with a Premier League job, but I don't think I can be any more clear on Thursday about my stance and the feelings I have for the people behind the scenes here. 

“Today was a tricky one, I just wanted to get the three points.” 

It took just 12 minutes for the Hoops to open the scoring, midfielder Field volleying in Stefan Johansen’s corner before Broadhead responded with a volley of his own. 

But another set-piece gave QPR the eventual winner, this time Balogun nodding in and Beale lauded a gritty performance, something embodied by forward Lyndon Dykes.

“It’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” said Beale. “We’re the underdogs, that top six, that top eight, we’re the team no one expected.  

“It’s important we harness that mentality and keep fighting tooth and nail for every point. 

“We’ve seen Lyndon Dykes today put in so much energy for his teammates, I made them give him a round of applause in there, because went into this game with one or two aches and pains but he just played through it.  

“There was no goals in his performance today but there were plenty of other things that I loved.”