QPR's 0-0 draw with Millwall must be considered a point earned for survival under John Eustace

When QPR players tied at half-time against Millwall, they did not want to watch the other Championship scores.

The three teams below the R's won: Wigan in Hull, Rotherham at home against Aston Villa (10) and even Reading in a Norwich team that had demolished John Eustace's team four days earlier.

Suddenly, the impact of the lamentable race was becoming real: a goal for Millwall at The Den would have left the Rs two points behind the fall.

How do you treat such a scenario as a manager?

Do you tell your players in the hope that this will encourage them to step up their activities and find a winner after the break? Or are you absolutely certain that they do not know what's going on, lest a recently defeated team against Rotherham and Bolton on his collective resume not freeze against another rival of relegation?

If you are John Eustace, the answer is no more. To ensure his QPR team remained focused, he made sure he was unaware of the events at KCOM, the New York stadium and Carrow Road.

"I just discovered the results and the last thing that worries me is the result of someone else," said the interim leader after the scoreless draw in South East London. .

"All that matters to me today is the performance, especially after Saturday, and we could see that the boys were together, committed to the club."

By the time his players left the field, having failed to beat Lions goaltender David Martin despite their best efforts, the situation on the court had changed.

Hull had caught the Latics' goal and Reading had earned him one point – rather than all three – after a brace by central defenders Norwich, Ben Godfrey and Christoph Zimmermann.

But above all, two goals from Villa Villa, a team of 10 players, tipped the match in Yorkshire.

In the worst case, a potential two-point gap had become a much more comfortable six, with notoriously poor travelers, Rotherham having more than two home games.

The Millwall match was QPR's fourth goalless draw of the season, and each quartet was shaped by the results that followed.

The September result at St Andrews was the platform on which a 10-point run in four games was built, helping to keep QPR out of immediate danger after starting the season with four losses, while the December point against Reading scored the defeat while securing Steve McClaren's 2018 formation with a comparable run – followed by a single point run over the next eight games.

We then reduced the home draw against a 10-man Stoke team in the first 10 minutes, a result that would have been considered less problematic if QPR had collected more than one point in the next two games against Rotherham and Hull.

"There are a lot of people who probably doubt us, the commitment of the players, but I can badure you that tonight's performance showed that the club is together, that the players are together and really want to get as many points as possible to stay in this game. " league, "said Eustace.

Of course, commitment and solidarity are qualities that must be demonstrated for more than 90 minutes, and the admirable performance against Millwall could still count for nothing if it is not followed by the same thing in future matches. home against Swansea and Blackburn.

Ten days after the victory over Millwall in September, one of QPR's best home parades of the season, the Rs traveled to South Wales and had little impact in the first half of a possible defeat 3-0.

The fast start to The Den was crucial, especially after the Carrow Road semifinal start in the previous match. Indeed, Millwall boss Neil Harris spoke of the impact of QPR with his tough fight in the first minutes, and the six points are often not a matter of who blinks first but who gives the impression of do it.

One way to avoid being bullied is to swing wildly without looking in the same way at the opponent: the already closed eyes can not blink by definition and confuse an opponent who entered the match in the hope of looking down on you.

After Angel Rangel's comments on treating the trip to Millwall as a cup final, QPR is offering five more games, which is also the case.

A good start against Swansea will be crucial, and it does not matter if the visitors have nothing to do in theory – the results of QPR since the beginning of the year indicate that the strength or motivation of the opposition does not make it possible to understand how will the game end.

Results elsewhere would have ensured that the point at Millwall was good, but the next game will let us know if it can be considered excellent.

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