Portsmouth Will 'Want Revenge' - Stephan
Queens Park Rangers (QPR) are set to face Portsmouth in their Championship season opener this weekend. Ahead of the match, QPR head coach Julien Stephan has warned his team that Portsmouth will be eager for revenge after a 6-1 defeat at Loftus Road last March.
Stephan said: 'I don't think the previous result will have a great importance on Saturday. They [Portsmouth] will probably want to have revenge. I can understand that. In reality, when you restart the season, it's just a reset.'
The QPR boss went on to explain his perspective: 'You have to forget what happened the season before because all the teams restart with zero points. That's why it's very exciting to restart the new season each time because you have a lot of hope for good things.'
Despite acknowledging Portsmouth’s desire for revenge, Stephan emphasized that QPR must remain focused on their own objectives: 'We respect Portsmouth a lot, but the main thing is to stay focused on QPR, how we want to play, how we want to manage this game [and] how we want to win the balance of power.'
Stephan’s comments come as QPR prepare for what promises to be an exciting start to their Championship campaign. Fans and players alike will be eager to see how the team performs against a side that they know well, having faced them in the past.
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