Gareth Ainsworth has issued an apology to irate QPR fans after Rangers were hit for six in a shock drubbing by relegation-threatened Blackpool in the Championship on Tuesday night.
The west Londoners were 3-0 down inside just 15 minutes on a nightmare evening at Bloomfield Road against a team that had long since slipped into the bottom three having won just one of their previous 19 games.
It quickly brought QPR back down to earth with a bump and renewed their own fears over relegation after a 1-0 win over Watford on Saturday - their first under new manager and club legend Ainsworth - had ended a damaging run of five consecutive losses.
Rangers could yet fall into a battle for survival after a crushing defeat that leaves them 19th, just seven points off the relegation zone.
"I must apologise to the fans because that was an unacceptable performance overall," said Ainsworth, the former Rs midfielder and long-time Wycombe boss appointed to replace the sacked Neil Critchley last month.
"I'm not worried, because we've got plenty of good players in the dressing room, but Blackpool smashed us and I just didn't see that coming before the game.
"We looked nervous, we looked weak, but we've all got to get over this quickly I expected the lads to stand up to Blackpool much better than they did, so this result hurts.
"I just wish I could have put my boots on and gone out there myself. I would have defended those set-pieces better. It's up to me to pick the lads up again now, though.
"I feel a bit like I've trodden on broken glass, but we'll go again between now and the end of the season and then get ourselves ready for next season, in the Championship."
