LONDON away games have been some of the best afternoons of the Mick McCarthy era, from Noel Hunt’s last-gasp winner at Charlton to a couple of fabulous victories at Fulham to the brilliant Daryl Murphy-inspired 4-2 Boxing Day 2014 win at Brentford.

But Loftus Road has been one London ground where Town’s form under McCarthy has been less than capital - they’ve lost five in a row, with the last win there under Roy Keane back in 2010 - and that never looked like changing on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1.

Much has been written about Jamie Mackie’s opening goal just before half-time, with QPR boss Ian Holloway admitting Massimo Luongo handled in the build-up.

However, Rangers had been in control for most of the half and had created most of the chances.

The second goal just after the break, Luke Freeman having been given time and space to toe-poke a shot which seemed to catch keeper Bartosz Bialkowski unawares, looked to have sealed the three points until sub Bersant Celina cracked in a brilliant 25-yard first Championship goal.

Town might even have grabbed an equaliser they didn’t deserve right at the end but debutant sub Tom Adeyemi shot over when he should have scored.

But another trip to Loftus Road ended in defeat, the Blues’ second in succession in the Championship following wins in their first four games.

Although it’s too early to get too concerned, the run might yet prove to be a blip rather than an out-and-out downturn, particularly as plenty of players are still coming back from illness and injury, the back-to-back defeats have dampened the optimism instilled by the early victories.

Much focus has been on the defence given its makeshift nature due to the lack of fit centre-halves and, while there have undoubtedly been more than a few chaotic moments, the greater problem in the last couple of matches has been the midfield.

In pre-season - 6-1 thrashing at Charlton aside - and in some of the earlier games during the campaign proper the Blues kept hold of the ball much more comfortably than has often been the case under McCarthy but the same can’t be said of more recent matches.

A more counter-attacking approach paid dividends in the 4-3 win at Millwall and the 2-0 home defeat of Brentford. However, it’s been far less effective in the last two games.

McCarthy largely sticking with the personnel which brought the early success is understandable - and to some degree also dictated by the injury and illness situation - but in the last couple of games it’s felt like too many strikers were being shoehorned into the team.

While Freddie Sears dropped out at Loftus Road, Martyn Waghorn started wide on the left in a midfield four, a role which despite his early goals doesn’t seem to suit him, before the system was quickly switched to 4-3-3, but with QPR already having gained the upper hand.

As has been the case all season, Town looked capable of doing the QPR defence some damage when their strikers got the ball in the danger area but with the home side controlling the game this happened all too rarely.

Time for a midfield rethink ahead of tomorrow’s game against Bolton at Portman Road.

The big positive to come out of the QPR game was Celina’s goal and the on-loan Manchester City man looks set to make his first Championship start.

After suffering with a niggling illness, the 21-year-old Kosovo international used the international break wisely, putting in two all-action U23s performances and now looks ready for the first team. Adeyemi is similarly closing in on full fitness having featured for the U23s again on Monday and will add some strength and hopefully on-the-ball influence to the centre of midfield.

In defence, skipper Luke Chambers could return from his ankle injury, bringing some much-needed experience and solidity to the backline.

Bolton, bottom of the table and winless, would appear ideal opposition for the Blues as they look to get back to form. A win against the Trotters was one of Portman Road’s greatest ever games and although unlikely to match that remarkable 2000 play-off semi-final, a victory tomorrow would do much to renew fans’ early positivity.