Josh Windass and Callum Paterson are both available for another ‘must-win’ match for Wednesday when we take on QPR in West London on Saturday.
Danny Rohl confirmed at Thursday’s press conference that the long-term injury pair are fit for selection and hinted that at least one of them could start the game with the other on the bench.
Di’Shon Bernard is an injury doubt after suffering a muscle injury in the warm-up against Swansea on Good Friday and then also missed Easter Monday’s woeful performance in a 2-0 defeat at Middlesbrough.
We remain in 23rd place on 39 points, two from safety although really three because of our far inferior goal difference. It still remains tight at the bottom, with only eight points separating us from Swansea in 15th place, but there are now only six matches left to be played for each of those clubs realistically involved in the survival fight.
Successive wins for QPR have lifted them onto 46 points and Wednesday will no doubt face a hostile crowd in such a big game for both teams, and with the home club only giving us about half of the usual away ticket allocation.
Not surprisingly, manager Rohl was highly critical of his players after the gutless display at Boro and said today that he had had a meeting with the squad immediately after the game, shown them clips of the match and then some more on the following day.
Now, looking to the QPR clash, he said: “We were disappointed after the game, but it’s about going forward and showing a reaction.
“You have to select the right players for the starting eleven and after the last games my thoughts are in a lot of directions. Let’s have a look how we select.
“You have some players who are good at the moment, some who have had good games and then dropped back a little bit, and I think that’s been the challenge since I arrived. We’re not always with the same performance.
“For instance, if you compare some players from Friday to Monday, there’s a big difference. But this is football, and hopefully I find the right 11.
“I want to see a team that is active, not passive, not waiting, we have to be active and since I arrived that has been one of our strengths.”
Rohl spoke of how the team has recovered from other setbacks during the season and he believes the players can do so again.
He said: “We have to go to QPR and deliver. We have to fight for every inch on the pitch.
“We have to understand we have worked very hard in the last five to six months. Now we have got so close to achieving our goals and we need to show the right attitude.
“We need to fight for each other, for our massive fans and for our club to stay in this division.”
He added: “This would be the biggest achievement in football for me if we stay up. We had our first win after matchday 14 and it will be a huge achievement to stay up.”