Isolating the past 13 games in the Championship, Leeds United are top with 28 points. Only one point behind them Burnley and QPR sit on 27 points. Not even QPR-midfielder Lucas Andersen knew his club had been that good, he reveals when we join him, ironically a few days after the Hoops suffered a rare defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.
“Games are often decided by fine margins, especially in the championship and this was one of them. In terms of the performance of course it was not the best one but still the game was very even,” Andersen tells Tribalfootball, assuring QPR supporters the defeat hasn’t rocked the boat too much.
“If anything, people probably saw it more as a reminder of what this league is all about. The atmosphere around the club has been really good lately. It is not only the results but also the way that we have achieved those results and the way we've been playing. It's a big up to both the fans and the coaches and the staff around the whole team that we’ve been able to turn it around and still believe in the stuff that we've been doing.
"I think that's a massive part of it because that's what football is about. It’s often about momentum and when you win games, everything becomes a little bit easier”, says Andersen, who arrived at Loftus Road 12 months ago, joining from Danish club AaB. So, is this the best time he’s experienced at the club?
“I can't lie, the atmosphere after the Leeds game (a 4-0-win, ed.) last season was also pretty good,” Andersen reveals with a wry smile indicating there’s more to that evening than we get to hear about; “Sometimes you have to go through some suffering to feel some joy. So, going from not performing that well, suffering a lot in terms of results, turn it around and then keeping it up and do it with great football at times. Being able to score goals and keeping clean sheets, I think that's a very big achievement and that's the reason why we are where we are. And sometimes you can draw from past experiences.”
Confidence was always there
But how does the same team go from one win in 16 to being one of the best sides in the division? What changed, did manager Marti Cifuentes tweak his philosophy a little to get a playoff-chasing side out of a team rock-bottom, seven points from safety with a third of the season gone?
“Well, we were just trying to create a little bit of excitement in the league,” Andersen initially deadpans with a mischievous glint in his eyes before a little more explanation.
“It's probably not something which can be described in black and white. It's a lot of things coming together and often it comes with results. You can have some ugly wins but that will then take you to the next step which is being able to actually play with some calmness in the build-up for example. Or perhaps suddenly those corners that you’ve practiced gets you a goal instead of hitting the post or whatever. Then suddenly the feeling you get within the team is a whole different thing.
“You can have a really good performance, but then lose 2-0, and you play a really poor game, and the result is right. It's often fine margins that decides the perception of a game. That goes for the fans but it also goes for us on the inside,” Andersen states, saying the confidence was always there, albeit a little bruised.
“There will be doubts and small discussions, of course, but we managed to get through it and I think we handled it in a very good way. We didn't stress too much and we were able to turn things around without compromising too much on the way we played. The realization of being able to actually play and control the games came at the right time for us and that's been a game-changer.”
Dreaming of the playoffs
Sitting out January injured, the former Ajax-prodigy is close to a come-back, having trained with the squad on the day of our interview. He joined Queens Park Rangers a year ago with a career having come to an almost standstill back in Denmark, the former Danish international is now loving life in London. And, he assures us, so does the family.
“We love it here. We are very happy, the kids are starting to speak English and the whole way of life just suits us here,” a clearly satisfied Dane states. Speaking of Danes, he is keeping tabs on the colony of 'Vikings' causing a stir in the Premier League with Brentford who was a rival of QPR only a few years ago.
“Of course! You follow people's careers, not least because I played with a few of them. Some of them are doing really well in the Premier League,” Andersen says of a group perhaps soon joined by Andreas Christensen. The rumour-mill has it that the big Barcelona defender might rock up at the bus stop in Hounslow looking for game time.
“Well, they do love a Dane there, don't they? Obviously, he's an amazing defender. He would fit in everywhere he goes. Brentford have a coach (Thomas Frank, ed.) there doing an amazing job. I think he knows Andreas really well. The way they are playing and what they are doing right now is not the worst place to go for a guy like him.”
For now, Andersen is fully focused on the rest of the season with QPR, though, and sitting six points off sixth place with more than a third of the season still to play, the playoffs are not off the table for the Hoops.
“Everyone has dreams and ambitions but we've also been through some tough times and know how quickly it can turn. The way we try to go about it is just focus on the next game and then the next after that. I know it's a boring answer, but it's the truth. It's very important to keep focus on what's just in front of you.”
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