Djibril Cisse says he “decided to keep his cool” despite being upset at starting the Stoke match on the bench prior to scoring the winner. Meanwhile Clint Hill is in pragmatic mood ahead of this weekend’s game at Man City.

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Cisse rose from the bench to score the only goal of the game against Stoke with the final kick of normal time but revealed to West London Sport afterwards he was far from thrilled not to start the game.

Cisse said: “It was an important game and I really wanted to play in it, so I was a bit upset to be a sub. I decided to keep my cool and try to answer in a good way and that’s what I did, so I’m pleased. It was a really important goal because I know how important for the club it is to stay up. It’s not finished, but it’s in our hands.”

Manager Mark Hughes told the club’s official website: "If you wanted that ball to fall to anyone in the box it would be Djib. That's what he does best. He's always in the right place, at the right time and today he deserves a lot of credit, because that chance was a lot more difficult than it looked. He was disappointed not to start today, but I thought it was important we kept the same shape that had served us well here in previous weeks.”

Hughes readily admitted his team had been a long way from its best at the weekend but was just glad to secure the right result.

He continued: "We've had some great performances and results in the last few weeks at home, but although we weren't at our best today, we got the job done. We didn't give the fans too much to shout about to be honest, but the noise when Cisse's winner went in it was something else.

"We haven't covered ourselves in glory this year on the road, but what better time to turn it around? There will be a huge amount of expectation on the game with them going for the title, but we'll give it our best shot. It's unbelievable what this league throws up time and again, but it's in our hands and that's all we can ask for. Obviously results elsewhere could help us out, but we want to go and make it happen ourselves. My focus is totally on what we do - I get the feeling we'll be a lot better than we were at Chelsea last week."

Hughes will be keen to put one over on his former club this weekend after his harsh sacking at Eastlands two years ago, and Rangers also have three former Man City players in their team including defender Nedum Onuoha who was also full of praise for Cisse after the weekend’s action.

Onuoha said: “It certainly has been entertaining. If he stays on the pitch, the chances are he'll score. When Anton headed on, you just knew that Djib was going to be there - he turned round and put it away. Moments like that are what we are all involved in football for. When a goal can bring that kind of reaction, it's amazing. I don't think you can get that in every other profession. It's a fantastic feeling. "We just had to keep going and we knew that we had to win this game to give us any chance at all. We kept the belief and thankfully we got something. You can't not have belief and be in this situation to be honest - otherwise, I think we would have been relegated a long time ago. Confidence is a very fragile thing but, at home, we've got it and long may it continue."

Onuoha has formed part of a more settled back four lately and having gone 25 matches without a clean sheet the R’s have now recorded three shut outs in six games. A fourth at Man City this weekend will preserve their Premiership status. Fellow defender Clint Hill told the Ealing Gazette: “As a professional you can’t really enjoy football if you’re losing football games, but to play 20 odd games in the Premier League is a massive milestone for me. Stoke was our game of the season, and now we need to put the whole bus in front of Manchester City and see what happens.” Hill also told West London Sport the QPR players wouldn’t hold it against former manager Neil Warnock if rumours of him signing El Hadji Diouf at Leeds turn out to be true, despite Diouf’s behaviour towards Jamie Mackie after he broke his leg at Blackburn in the FA Cup last season. Hill said: “If he does sign him there’ll obviously be reasons for it. We won’t hold it against him. Jamie’s very close to us and what happened up at Blackburn was such a bad experience, and as a group we were really annoyed. But it’s not for me to judge who Neil Warnock signs. If that’s the route he decides to go down then fair enough.”

Mackie himself finished runner up in the LSA Player of the Year poll with trophies presented at the weekend and he told London24 he hoped hi performances had proved his critics wrong this season. He said: “I was confident in my own ability but I wanted to show people that I could play in this league. The main thing that I wanted to do – and I still want to do – is stay in the Premier League and keep playing teams of this quality. I’ve had to bide my time and come off the bench for a while, but I got my head down and got myself back in the side.”

Bad news for two QPR players today, neither Paddy Kenny nor Djibril Cisse have made their country’s provisional squads for Euro 2012 this summer.

Loan Watch

Patrick Agyemang is hoping Sheffield United’s disappointment at missing out on automatic promotion from League One will benefit his Stevenage side when the pair meet in the play offs. Stevenage got a 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane a fortnight ago to take automatic promotion out of the Blades’ hands and cross city rivals Sheffield Wednesday pipped them to second place. Now Agyemang is hoping to heap more misery on Danny Wilson’s men.

He told the Stevenage Comet: “They’ve been up there for the whole season and to lose that place at the last minute will have been devastating for them,” said the 31-year-old. “It’s going to be a good test of their character to see if they can pick themselves up and go again. If they are up for it then it will be a good game but, if not, they are going to get turned over. We’ll be the underdogs but at the moment we’re in good form and the team is playing well, so hopefully we can take that into the upcoming games.

“When I first came here it was hard. We’ve had to grind away on the training ground and in games but it’s all changed now. The team is working a lot better together, and I feel a lot fitter. The players are picking up different runs and we’re linking up well, creating more chances and scoring more goals. It’s good for me that I’m in the play-offs and obviously I’m getting a lot of coverage now so I’m just waiting to see what happens. But I’m enjoying my time at Stevenage. QPR might come down so if they get relegated things might be different, I’m not sure, but I’m also not sure my future lies with QPR anymore. Things are going great here at the moment. The boys are good, the manager likes me so I’m happy.”

Former R’s

Paul Murray has been named Player of the Year at League One side Hartlepool United. The 35-year-old has been a virtual ever present in the Pool midfield as they have cemented a midtable finish and told the Lancashire Evening Post he was pleased with his contribution: “I think I’ve started 44 games this season. I’ve been voted the player of the year, so hopefully that will stand me in good stead and I will be here next season. We’ve had a good season. I’ve been here two years now and the season before I came, the club stayed up on the last day of the season. Last season we finished 16th and hopefully, this season we will stay around 10th or 11th and that’s a big improvement for a club like Hartlepool. Hopefully, we can kick on next season.

Speaking about his time with QPR in the late 1990s Murray added: “There were a whole clutch of clubs who were said to be interested, but QPR were the ones who put the money up. I went on loan at first because I had torn my thigh and I wasn’t fit. They wanted to have a look at me first. I got myself fit and it was a big-money move. It got bandied about in the Press that the fee was £350,000, but it was actually £750,000 plus £250,000 for a full England cap. But I loved it down there. It was a big thing to move from Carlisle. I was still a young lad, but I ended up staying with a friend just outside Oxford Street. I travelled to training on the tube. I had just an amazing time at first there.”

Martin Rowlands is not being kept on by Colchester United after injuries restricted him to seven appearances since moving from QPR in January. Rowlands told the local Gazette newspaper: ““The manager has made his decision that he doesn’t want to keep me at the club next season. I know that there are budget cuts there and it’s slightly disappointing but it’s just one of those things. I feel that I did well when I played and that I did well for the team. But hopefully that bodes well for me and other clubs will see that."

Premiership Shorts

- Deluded manager story of the week number one, Blackburn’s Steve Kean says he will stay with the club and exciting times lay ahead following Monday night’s home defeat to Wigan which condemns Rovers to the second relegation spot. Rovers have also sacked deputy CEO Paul Hunt after a leaked e-mail revealed he demanded Kean’s sacking before Christmas and said the club was destined for relegation without drastic changes.

- Deluded manager story of the week number two, Aston Villa boss Alex Mcleish says he expects to be with the club next season despite a desperate campaign which has seen them flirt with the relegation zone and win just seven games all season (three less than QPR). McLeish said: “I'd expect to be here next season and hope to win over the dissenting Villa fans." His first move to rectify things, according to the papers this morning, will be the signing of Wolves midfielder Karl Henry. My goodness.

- Chelsea must win the Champions League final against Bayern Munich later this month to qualify for the tournament next season after losing 4-1 at Liverpool last night. The Blues had beaten Kenny Dalglish’s men 2-1 in the FA Cup final at the weekend but fielded a weakened side at Anfield and were swept aside, killing any chance of making the top four. Manager Roberto Di Matteo justified his selection saying: "We've had very intense games, the last one just three days ago. To get yourself up every three days, it's a big demand on everyone. I thought with fresh legs and new energy we could have had a better chance.”

- Should Chelsea win that final then the quest for fourth position would all be in vain as the recipients would no longer qualify for the Champions League next season. Arsenal, Spurs and Newcastle are currently separated by two points from third to fifth going into the final round of games. Spurs defender Younes Kaboul said: "Arsenal and Newcastle have both been good, but we've been more consistent.”

- Which all just leaves the title race between Man City and Man Utd who are separated by goal difference in City’s favour alone. United are underdogs heading to Sunderland this weekend with City only needing to beat our good selves to lift the trophy. United’s Patrice Evra said: “I know that if we don't win the league then a lot of people will say this is the end of the empire and ask how we will survive. But there is a lot of talent at this club."

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Photo: Action Images via Reuters