Manager Mark Warburton has called on his QPR charges to launch an attack on the Championship play-off places, ahead of their weekend trip to strugglers Birmingham City.

The Rs are among the form sides in the second tier, and while a goalless draw away at Preston in midweek brought an end to their four-match winning run, the point gained pushed them to within nine of sixth-placed Cardiff. 

Having arrived back in west London in the early hours of Thursday morning QPR face a quick turnaround ahead of Saturday’s 3pm kick-off at St Andrew’s, where they will come up against a side without a home win in 12 games. 

And while Warburton acknowledged that every game in the Championship promises a tough battle, he is hopeful of a result that will improve Rangers’ 13th-place position and ultimately enhance their Premier League ambitions. 

“We are in a position that we’ve earnt,” said Warburton, 58. “The players have earnt the chance to really kick on and hunt down the points. That’s what we have to do - we have to go looking for every single point now. 

“If you do that, and you win your games in hand, you can be in a nice position. We’ve shown this season that we have the quality to hurt any team in this league, but we have to make sure we respect every opponent. 

“You can get punished very quickly in the Championship, so we have to make sure the players understand their responsibility and the opportunity. It’s another tough trip this weekend against a team who are scrapping hard.”

With the games coming thick and fast in the business end of the campaign, Warburton hinted he could make changes to his squad despite having fielded an unchanged starting line-up for the last four games. 

And with a home clash against Barnsley next Wednesday to consider, the former Brentford boss outlined the importance of the backroom team at Loftus Road to the playing staff’s prospects. 

He added: “We may have to have a look at the squad, and I’ve got no issue with swapping people in and out because we’ve got some very good options. 

“The dialogue between the sports science team, the medical team and the coaches is good, and that’s key. There are fine margins at this level, especially when you have limited recovery time.”