Bowen, Tried & Tested Formula

Mark Hughes, his Management team and the QPR squad arrived at the Amendoeira Resort in Portugal just after 3pm this afternoon and were immediately impressed by the facilities awaiting them.

Shortly after checking-in, Hughes headed straight off to check out the training pitches which will be the squad's base for the next five days.

And once the evening meal was out of the way, the vast majority of the squad settled down together in the lounge area to watch Barcelona's Champions League clash at Bayer Leverkusen on the big screen.

After the final whistle (Barca won 3-1 if you're interested!), the squad retired to their rooms in preparation for an early start and a demanding first training session.

Hughes's assistant, Mark Bowen, has been pleased with what he has seen so far as the Management staff do all they can to prepare the R's for our final 13 games of the season.

"The first impression since we've arrived is that this is an excellent training camp," Bowen told www.qpr.co.uk.

"The facilities are fantastic and we've had a look at the pitches and they look very good as well."

With the FA Cup fifth round taking place this weekend, QPR had a two-week gap in fixtures and have used the break to whisk the team away. Bowen explains why.

"It's a great time to come away for two reasons," he said.

"Firstly it gives us the opportunity to play on good services at a time when the Harlington pitches are frozen, and it also allows us the chance to go through a lot of tactical bits and pieces with the players.

"There are things that we want to address coming on the back of last weekend's result against Blackburn.

"The Manager said afterwards, and rightly so, that the first 45 minutes was a shock to all of us with how poorly we played.

"We didn't expect that because we thought we had prepared the lads well in terms of what we expected of them.

"But we finished the game very well and the stats from the second half showed that.

"Over the course of this week we will learn more about the players and the players will learn more about us.

"And with the new lads coming in, it means they can get used to their team-mates more and get involved in the group more.

"Samba Diakite is joining us tomorrow (Wednesday) and it's also a chance for him to get to know everybody.

"So this trip ticks a lot of boxes for us. It is something we have done at other Clubs we have been at.

"I don't like to speak too soon but whenever we have done this in the past we have always had positive results on the back of it when we return. Hopefully that will continue."

The players will be woken at 8am tomorrow for breakfast before JOGGING to the training pitches on the complex, but Bowen believes the squad welcome such a disciplined approach - despite what they may say!

"Regardless of their moans and groans we have always found that top professional footballers want structure," he added.

"They like things to be well organised, and getting them all up to have breakfast together is just a small part of that.

"We have got a day's work ahead of us and waking them up early is a way to show them that we are out here for a reason.

"This time together gives us the opportunity to do the subtle things away from the pitch that you don't have the chance to do back home.

"At Harlington, the players tend to finish training, shower, change and they're out of the building.

"In this situation it means we can have little chats here and there, and pick players' brains to get their thoughts on things as well.

"What we are doing is a tried and trusted formula. We have had success with this before and this is our opportunity to do good work on and off the training ground.

"We are here to work hard so that we return to England as a better squad and a better team."