QPR's Promising Start: Ian McCullough's Cautious Optimism

Ian McCullough has seen enough false dawns at Queens Park Rangers to know when to tap the brakes.

The QPR fan and journalist likes what he’s watching in this early burst of the season, but he’s not buying into any promotion chatter just yet.

“At Blackburn at the weekend, they won the game through the strength of the bench,” McCullough said, pointing to a key difference from last year. “They've got a real quality on the bench that they didn't have last season. In that kind of side the club has progressed.”

That depth is the headline change. Where QPR once faded when the starters tired, they now have options. Real ones. Players who can tilt a tight game, as they did at Ewood Park.

McCullough, though, keeps a wary eye on the fixture list.

QPR’s bright start has come against Blackburn, Portsmouth and Bolton – sides he feels Rangers should be beating if they’re serious about moving up the table.

“But as I keep saying with QPR,” he warned, “they've played three teams really that they should be beating - Blackburn, Portsmouth, Bolton. Had they lost any of those games, questions would be asked.”

The progress is clear. So is the caveat. The real examination of this QPR side is still to come.