Julien Stephan explains QPR decision he made v Oxford that had fans baffled | OneFootball

Hoops supporters were confused as to why the Frenchman had made so many alterations to his lineup

Queens Park Rangers manager Julien Stephan revealed his thought process behind the decision to make five changes ahead of Wednesday night's goalless draw with Oxford United which left sections of the Hoops fanbase rather perplexed.

Rangers came into the encounter unbeaten in their previous four encounters with three wins and a draw against Charlton Athletic, Wrexham, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, and were looking to make it three successive victories on the spin in W12 and break into the early-season play-off places.

What transpired, however, was a rather frustrating night for the masses as their side failed to break down a resolute U's side who have now taken four points from two rather challenging away encounters, having picked up their solitary win of the campaign thus far on the road against Bristol City on September 21st.

The aforementioned Stephan oversaw a major squad overhaul in this part of the capital following his appointment in mid-June, which brought an end to a long-standing managerial search, with as many as 13 new players coming through the door at Loftus Road.

Many of those have started the campaign in strong fashion, in particular the likes of Richard Kone, with the striker showing he is more than capable of making the step-up from League One level after an 18-goal haul at Wycombe Wanderers.

Yet, whilst the marquee summer signing remained in Stephan's lineup for the stalemate, the decision to make so many tweaks baffled supporters and led to a rather disjointed performance, although the former Rennes boss seemingly had no regrets.

Julien Stephan outlines reason for five QPR changes after Oxford United stalemate

The midweek encounter against Oxford was the 45-year-old's first taste of a three-game week in the second tier, having come off the back of a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough whilst also wary of Saturday's upcoming clash with Bristol City.

As such, despite the impressive contributions made by the likes of Liam Morrison, Nicolas Madsen, Jonathan Varane, Koki Saito and Rumarn Burrell in recent games, the quintet was replaced by Steve Cook, Sam Field, Isaac Hayden, Karamoko Dembélé and Michael Frey.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Rangers mustered the only shot on target in the game — echoing the frustrations of many — whilst Stephan made it clear that rotation was required.

“It was important for me to involve different players, with three games in one week,” he told the press afterwards.

“It’s just the beginning of the season and we need to do the season with 17, 18, 19, 20 players – not only 11.

“It was our plan to put fresh players at the beginning. If we always play with the same starting 11, I think in two months we will have these players completely dying, probably.

“So if we want a good season, we need more players playing during the season," Stephan stated.

Some supporters were clearly left confused by the decision to move several key performers out of the side due to forward-planning, with one in particular stating that Stephan had a better nine-man bench than his overall XI.

Another R's fan questioned why Stephan had made the mass amount of changes, as a win could have taken his side level on points with Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion who sit third and fourth respectively, due to goal difference.

One supporter believed that the visitors would have been extremely satisfied to see so many influential attack-minded players only able to make an impact through substitute cameos.

However, some were fully in support of Stephan's selection regardless of the overall outcome.

Another supporter gave more of a rational outlook on the side, as was backed up by Stephan's aforementioned comments.

Julien Stephan will still be satisfied with solid QPR start

Of course, the debate surrounding the array of changes has largely come to the fore due to an underwhelming result and performance, which is unsurprising.

However, that shouldn't take away from what has been an extremely positive few weeks in this part of London, with Rangers still unbeaten ever since their 7-1 humiliation at Coventry on August 23rd.

An away encounter at Ashton Gate this weekend will present several differing challenges in comparison to what the Hoops faced against Gary Rowett's men in midweek, and with the likes of Saito, Madsen and Burrell in particular likely to be raring to go after being protected, it enhances the chances of a positive result for the Hoops against a side now winless in three.