Show ambition or stay at home - Stephan

Queens Park Rangers boss Julien Stephan says his players must show ambition when they make the short trip to play West Ham United on Friday night – otherwise they “have to stay at home”.

The two London clubs will be meeting in a league game for the first time since a goalless Premier League draw at Loftus Road in 2015, and for the first time in the second tier since 2004.

Both sides have lost just one of their first eight Championship games this season – with QPR sixth, only two points behind the second-placed Hammers.

Speaking to BBC Radio London before the game, Stephan said: “We play a team who had some top results before the [international] break. [They have a] great ability to score, to create danger.

“For sure, this is one of the best teams in the league, with a lot of strengths. It’s a big, big challenge for us.

“[But] I think it’s really important mentally to start a game like this with a lot of belief, with a lot of trust.

“If we start the game without ambition, we don’t have to start the game, we have to stay at home. I can’t accept that.

“We must start the game with the right mindset, with the right behaviours, with the right understanding.

“This is how we want to start the game against West Ham – with a lot of respect for them, but with a lot of respect, as well, for our fans.”

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