Mark Warburton lamented his side’s lack of ‘cutting edge’ after QPR’s 1-0 defeat at Charlton on Saturday.

The Rs succumbed to their second defeat in two matches since the Championship season restarted, as an early Darren Pratley header left them ten points adrift of the play-off places.

And after 180 minutes of not scoring since returning from the lay-off, the QPR boss says his side must create more in their remaining seven fixtures.

“It’s all about putting the ball in the back of the net and it’s all about that cutting edge,” he said.

“We dominated possession in the second half, but we gave them something to hang on to.

“In the second half, you saw one team, really, but you’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net.

“Charlton defended with real resilience and aggression, which we knew they would do. Their centre-halves were strong and solid, and we didn’t have the quality to break them down.

“We had some good chances to equalise, especially just a minute into the second half – the whole game would have changed.

“We’ve dominated large parts of the play without getting our rewards.”

QPR’s run of games doesn’t get any easier as Warburton’s men host Fulham on Tuesday bidding to keep their play-off ambitions alive.

Scott Parker’s side succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Leeds on Saturday but still sit fifth in the Championship table, 14 points ahead of the Rs who know a failure to win at Loftus Road would all but end their lingering top six hopes.

And Warburton is aware his team must improve after a pair of slow starts and 1-0 defeats.

“We can’t start slowly – we’ve got to come out and be sharp, with real purpose to our play. When we do that, we’re a good team,” he added.

“However, goals change games and we gave away a soft one on Saturday, which gave our opponent something to hang on to – then the game changes.

“Young Faysal [Bettache] made his debut for us today and I’m pleased for the young ones coming through.

“However, we’re in a results industry – last week we lost one-nil and today we’ve lost one-nil.”