Ironically, inconsistency was perhaps the only consistent feature of Queens Park Rangers’ previous season and that will be something Mark Warburton will be charged with turning around.

Navigating the length and breadth of the Championship season will be nothing new to the 56-year-old, who has previously led Brentford and Nottingham Forrest in the league.

Recruitment, training and team selection will be factors that the Rs boss will need to hone to perfection if he is to improve on last year’s 19th-placed finish – but the fixture list is completely out of his control.

The 46 games that make up the Championship season have now been released and here are five key fixtures that Warburton and his men will face in 2019-20.

Stoke City (A), August 3

It sounds obvious to say that Warburton will strive to kick the season off with a win but if he wants to deliver an improvement on Steve McClaren’s efforts at Loftus Road, getting off on the right foot could be vital.

Fans were made to wait five games to get their first win on the board last year, so an opening-day victory over Stoke would be warmly welcomed this time around.

Two draws against the Potters last term indicates these teams are evenly matched and therefore, it could come down which of the two gets out of the blocks quicker on August 3.

Brentford (H), October 26

Facing his old club will perhaps be a bigger test for the manager than the players when it comes around.

The same fixture last year provided one of QPR’s most exciting encounters of the entire season as they scored three goals in ten minutes to come back from behind and run out 3-2 winners.

But all that hard work was undone by a 3-0 lacklustre defeat in the reverse fixture in March – and fans won’t want to see that repeated.

Fulham (A), November 23

Life in the top flight of English football didn’t go exactly as planned for Fulham and it remains to be seen what sort of squad they will bring back to the Championship with them next year.

Nonetheless, both sides have recent forays up to the Premier League under their belts and this west London derby is sure to be hotly contested.

Fulham will look to make Craven Cottage their fortress and picking up points there could be a tough ask but if Warburton is able to get the better of Scott Parker’s troops, it could prove to be a major statement of intent moving into the festive period.

Reading (A), Boxing Day

The Boxing Day fixture – always one to win fans over.

There’s nothing better than settling down in front of the TV or making the extra weight-laden trip out to a football stadium the day after Christmas to watch your team play.

Reading have been tipped to go down next year and will be seen as prime targets for points by most outfits in the league, including the Rs.

A win in this one, therefore, seems like a prerequisite for success.

West Brom (A), May 2

QPR’s nemeses last season will be their final opponents next season.

Fans might well be sweating over this one and it could prove to a problem, with the aggregate score finishing 10-3 in the Baggies’ favour in 2018-19 if the Rs find themselves in trouble on the last day.

McClaren’s flirtation with the drop-zone was what ultimately cost him his job and if Warburton mimics his predecessor, there is no guarantee that he will be around to see the final throes played out.