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QPR boss Marti Cifuentes says he is "100% confident" he can turn the club's poor start to the season around after his side's 4-1 defeat at home by Middlesbrough.

The Hoops' single Championship win of the season was in August and only bottom club Portsmouth have picked up fewer points than their 10.

Cifuentes replaced Gareth Ainsworth as head coach just over a year ago and steered the west London club clear of relegation last season.

But since winning at Luton Town on August 29, his side have picked up just five points and are four points behind 21st-placed Preston North End.

Asked after the game if he thought he was the right person to improve the club's stuttering form Cifuentes said: "I'm always confident, 100% confident."

He added: "I think that I've been in situations like this in my career and I always succeed so if someone expected that this would be an easy season, I think it was wrong."

'No-one is happy' - Cifuentes urges fans to stick with team

Goals from Riley McGree, Tommy Conway and substitutes Emmanuel Latte Lath and Dan Barlaser for Boro consigned QPR to their fourth home league defeat of the season.

The Hoops had drawn each of their previous three games, including creditable 0-0 results against promotion-chasing Burnley and Sunderland, but there were loud boos at the full-time whistle at Loftus Road after this latest defeat.

"Hopefully they see a team that is trying their best," Cifuentes said.

"Unfortunately so far it has not been enough, so I think it is fair that they are not happy in this moment.

"No-one is [happy]. I'm not a happy manager, the players are not happy to get the results that we are getting at the moment.

"But the only solution is to stay together. Because that was, I think, the main key of our success last season in a very difficult situation.

"And this season will probably be the same in a sense that we need everyone, so hopefully we can start to get the results that we want and pick up the points that we need."

'Any team would suffer with injury crisis we have'

The R's are missing a list of key players including top scorer Michael Frey and defenders Kenneth Paal and Jake Clarke-Salter.

Ilias Chair is also set to undergo tests after picking up an injury in the first half against Boro that resulted in him being substituted at half-time.

Cifuentes said he had never experienced a situation with injuries like it in his coaching career.

"The reality is we have a lot of injuries, unfortunately, and this is punishing us a lot because we are missing important players," he said.

"No doubt all teams in the league when they have an injury crisis we have, of eight or nine players off, will suffer."

QPR are next in action against Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday [15:00 GMT].