Queens Park Rangers boss Marti Cifuentes admitted that his side need to channel their frustrations after Saturday's fiery pre-season defeat at Reading.

QPR, entering the new campaign with optimism after a promising end to the previous season under the new boss, created the better of the chances but failed to convert past Joel Pereira.

Meanwhile, Femi Azeez buried the hosts' biggest opportunity shortly after half-time to secure another pre-season Championship scalp.

However, the talking point for many of the near-4,500 spectators in attendance was the fiery nature of the two teams, with the action boiling over on at least two memorable occasions in the second half.

Charlie Savage's high tackle on forward Paul Smyth led to a coming together between both sets of players, while Jake Clarke-Salter let his temper boil over in the final stages with Sam Smith and Azeez.

(Image: ©Jason Dawson)

Speaking to the club media after the game, Cifuentes commented: " “This was a very good test for us and we can learn a lot from this game. It was good preparation for what can happen in the Championship.

“I said to the guys we got clear chances and we only conceded one shot on our goal, which was from one of our mistakes. That’s how the game works. It is not about being nicer or better, it is about showing it in the score and today we didn’t show the difference in the quality.

“We can take a lot of positives in the sense that we played against a very specific way of playing because Reading were so aggressive.

“They weren’t perhaps very interested in having a lot of possession but about counter-pressing, about trying to be very high in the pitch, and there were lots of breaks and lots of free-kicks.

“I could see the frustration of our players, especially in the last 20 minutes, and we have to be better than that."

Ruben Selles felt that QPR 'made a couple of these situations' but liked the intensity and commitment that his side showed in front of the home supporters.

"I don’t dislike or like, I think we are competitive, and we want to win games. We want to be intense and competitive in the season, so we need to play that kind of way. I think also the opponents made a couple of these situations.

"Sometimes it is just the competitiveness of the game, not one team or the other. I see that my team are competitive in everything that we do and when this happens, we are all together. Overall, we are learning how to manage football matches."

(Image: ©Jason Dawson)

Lewis Wing, the Royals' skipper, picked up on the mood from inside the white lines but admitted that once the whistle blows, all ideas of the game being 'friendly' go out the window.

"You are conscious of that [injuries] but once the whistle goes and you kick off it goes out of the window, and you play with your heart, so you go in with all sorts of tackles and challenges. You see it’s a friendly to start off with but as soon as you cross that white line it is the real deal."