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Hughes keen to push on

Image: Mark Hughes: Eager to build on the win over Liverpool and beat Sunderland on Saturday

Mark Hughes has challenged his Queens Park Rangers players to gather further momentum by beating Sunderland on Saturday.

QPR boss does not want to lose momentum

Mark Hughes has challenged his Queens Park Rangers players to take confidence from Wednesday's remarkable victory over Liverpool and gather further momentum by beating Sunderland on Saturday. QPR's poor run of form looked set to continue in midweek when they fell 2-0 down at home to Kenny Dalglish's Reds, but a late three-goal blitz sealed an astonishing turnaround. The 3-2 win boosted their survival hopes but Hughes knows it will count for nothing if there is not a repeat performance at the Stadium of Light. He said: "It was a huge result for us and it has given everybody a lift. The important thing now is that we don't allow that momentum and uplifting feeling to dissipate. "We have got to make sure we can hopefully get another positive result and if we can build on what we achieved the other night then it will have been worthwhile. "There is no point having an outstanding performance and great result if we slip back into losing games when maybe we should be taking points. "The challenge for us is to make sure we go and hopefully get something from Sunderland."

Barton backing

While QPR have been boosted by the midweek victory, captain Joey Barton admitted his performance against the Reds was the worst of his career. The 29-year-old was replaced after an ineffectual performance in the 62nd minute by Jamie Mackie, who went on to spearhead the incredible comeback. Barton was booed off the pitch by the home faithful, leading the midfielder to express his displeasure at the reception through his Twitter account. "There was obviously some criticism of Joey and maybe that was a little bit of frustration of the situation we were finding ourselves in," Hughes said of the incident. "That came through and Joey bore the brunt of that to a certain extent, but he is big enough and strong enough to take that on his shoulders. "I made the change because he wasn't having the best of evenings and we needed to change the dynamics of the game. "Jamie came on and is somebody that late in games has such energy that he can upset people and have an impact. "That was the thinking behind it but obviously Joey has got a part to play between now and the end of the season. "He is our captain and he will get on with what he does, which is playing football."

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