QPR boss Mark Warburton is looking for his side to end the season on a high this weekend and claim victory in their last away trip of the season against Stoke City. 

The R’s have won each of their last two league matches on the road heading into Saturday’s encounter, having taken all three points from trips to Swansea and Middlesbrough in recent weeks. 

But a 3-1 defeat to Premier League bound Norwich City on Saturday halted any momentum the side may have gained from those successes, with Lyndon Dykes’ second-half missed penalty ultimately proving costly against the Canaries. 

But with just two matches of the season left to play and their place in the second tier assured for next season, Warburton is keen for his side to keep their eyes on the ball when they make the journey to the Potteries. 

“That trip is very important,” Warburton said. 

“I am very confident in terms of the quality that we have, but Stoke likewise will want to win their last home game of the season.

“We have to prepare well and learn from today.”

The clash with Michael O’Neill’s side is the perfect opportunity for QPR to get back to winning ways this weekend, having seen their two-game winning run come to an end at the hands of the league leaders last time out. 

Xavi Quintilla opened the scoring on the half-hour for the visitors, with the Spaniard’s long-range effort slipping through the hands of Seny Dieng before trickling over the line. 

Dykes then missed the opportunity to level the scores from 12 yards after the break, before Max Aarons rubbed salt in the wounds to double the advantage minutes later. 

The American striker did eventually get himself on the scoresheet soon after to reduce the arrears - and became the first Rangers player to score six times in a month since Paul Furlong back in April 2004 in the process. 

Emi Buendia rounded off the scoring for the visitors as they proved their Premier League quality, and Warburton was left reeling after the defeat, knowing that his team have a lot to learn ahead of next season. 

“We have to recognise that we have to keep growing as a team. We aren’t going to go out and spend a fortune, we have to develop what we have here,” the Rangers boss said after the defeat. 

“We can learn about having a better mindset, more self-belief, you can’t give players of that quality time and space and not expect to be punished.

“The players deserve so much praise because they have worked so hard, but today we let ourselves down.”