Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Warburton has said there is a decision to be made regarding the best way to develop his squad’s young players.

Rangers lost 3-1 to rivals Brentford on Saturday after conceding all three goals in the first 33 minutes of the game, leaving Warburton furious with his side’s performance.  

 “The first half was not acceptable and can’t happen again. We can’t give ourselves that kind of mountain to climb,” the QPR manager said.

21-year-old Conor Masterson came on at half-time against the Bees and Warburton expressed his thoughts on the young defender regarding his development and looking forward to the rest of the season.

He said: “I am delighted with him. He is a young player that we have a lot of belief in and I want him to be pushing for a first team jersey.

“But does he get that from training with the first team here, playing for the under-23s and getting odd games like that, or does he get that from getting 15 or 20 games out on loan and playing games that really matter? That is the decision.”

Warburton also shared the importance of giving the young players the best chance to maximise their potential, as Rs fans have already seen this season with the impressive performances of Eberechi Eze and Bright Osayi-Samuel.  

“We aren’t going to be a club that spends £10m or £15m on players, we aren’t even going to be a club that spends £3m or £4m. It is not going to happen. We have got to get firm foundations and develop our young players. But they have to be good enough.

“They aren’t going to learn and develop from sitting on the bench each week.”

Rangers welcome second-placed Leeds United to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Saturday lunchtime on the back of a run of just one win in their last six league matches.

Despite their opponent’s position in the league table, Warburton knows his team’s self-belief will be a key factor if they are to win the game.

“They are a threat, they have a good team. But we know we are a very good team when we play with the belief and on the front foot.”