Boss Joe Royle defended keeper Kelvin Davis despite the former England U21 being at fault on both goals in the 2-0 home defeat to QPR.

Royle said: "Kelvin Davis has held his hands up for both goals. He is one of the best kickers in the business and this is the first time his kicking has cost us a goal since he has been here.

"There are no recriminations because he has done terrifically well for us. For the second goal Kelvin shouted at the defence to leave it, so it was down to him.

"He is big enough and brave enough to handle the situation and he'll be there for us again next week."

The Town manager says his side need a result at Wigan next week: "Rangers challenged us to break them down and we couldn't. I don't think we enjoyed many breaks but we looked a little bit goal-shy.

"Some of our forwards are not having the best of times and we keep conceding early goals which makes things difficult. We will have to make up for it at Wigan next week.

"I had as near as we come to a dressing room lock-up - about four minutes. I was disappointed that one or two of our players didn't seem to want the ball today.

"Our fans were out-shouted by a few hundred away fans but our players must be strong enough to deal with it when our home supporters are frustrated."

Not surprisingly, Rangers' boss Ian Holloway was chuffed with his team: "I was delighted with the improvement my players showed.

"It was a professional performance and I enjoyed it. I was expecting a backlash from Ipswich after their home defeat against Watford.

"We are still not safe. We need another win and when we get it I'll be taking our boys out for a party to celebrate. For us to stay in this division on our budget is terrific. It is no mean achievement."

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