Gleeful Gareth Ainsworth hailed his QPR’s squad’s resilience after they secured their Championship safety with a 1-0 win at Stoke City on Saturday.

Albert Adomah scored the decisive goal three minutes into the second half, finding the net via the inside of the post after Lyndon Dykes’ shot from the distance was well saved.  

Boss Ainsworth, a former R’s player, led the celebrations post-match as 2,051 travelling supporters delighted in the side’s survival.

“The fans were unbelievable and, along with the players, they gave me absolutely everything,” Ainsworth told the club website.

“I am not going to mention one player because I would have to mention every player – the whole lot of them were superb.”

The Rs, who picked up back-to-back away wins for the first time since October, allowed their hosts the lion’s share of possession before striking on the counter.

It was an approach which worked to great effect at Turf Moor in a crucial 2-1 victory the previous weekend and one which lacklustre Stoke had no answer to at the bet365 Stadium.

“We put a plan in place, we soaked it up again and we hit them on the counter,” Ainsworth said. 

“At half-time we had a few choice words but we kept going, kept believing, and we could have had a couple more in that second half.

“We defended well at the other end, we did the job and I am just so happy.”

Ainsworth was thrust into save the sinking Super Hoops in February, with the club sat 17th in the table and perilously close to the drop zone.

The former Wycombe manager found the going tough early on, winning just one of his first 10 matches in charge, but eight points from a last possible 15 has hauled Rangers clear of the dreaded dotted line and ensured Championship football at Loftus Road for next season.

Reflecting on the side’s turnaround, Ainsworth feels an enormous sense of pride and is already planning for a more positive campaign next year.

“This is my club, this is where I had the best time of my career football-wise and there was no way I was going to turn this job down,” he added.

“I have been here eight weeks and a couple of the games were testing, they really were. But to get a reaction like that from the boys and a reaction like that from the fans was just sensational.

“Had we gone down I would have still been positive – let’s have a reset and go again. Now we can do that, but we can do it in the Championship. I want to revitalise and re-energise this squad.”