Exclusive – Jay Bothroyd: Every game is a cup final for QPR

Queens Park Rangers striker Jay Bothroyd has admitted Rangers need to beat their relegation battle rivals if they are to successfully avoid the drop.

The Hoops received a massive boost to their survival hopes after Bothroyd’s late strike secured a 2-1 win against fellow relegation-threatened Southampton, while the R's still have to face other contenders Aston Villa, Wigan and Reading.

And the striker told talkSPORT that Harry Redknapp’s side need to secure all three points from these encounters to maintain their Premier League status.

“Every game for us now is a cup final,” Bothroyd told Stan on Call Collymore.

“We’ve got some really important games coming up against teams around us and we need to get all three points from them.

“There’s no use in getting draws against these sides, we’re still rock bottom at the moment.

“We’re only four points from safety but we need wins, and winning against Southampton was a great start.

“We haven’t had too many feelings like that this season, but it was a great team performance.

“We worked on a lot this week tactically and it paid off."