QPR boss hails Coventry City rivals as 'best' team in the Championship

CommentsSportAndy Turner Coventry City reporter11:45, 09 Mar 2026Updated 14:15, 09 Mar 2026QPR boss Julien Stephan has declared Middlesbrough as the “best” team in the Championship after seeing his side blown away 4-0 at Loftus Road.

The Hoops head coach, who guided his side to a 2-1 home victory over league leaders Coventry City at the end of January but whose side were thrashed 7-1 at the CBS Arena in August, made his feelings known after seeing second placed Boro keep pace with the Sky Blues this weekend, just five points off Frank Lampard’s men.

Speaking after Sunday’s defeat to the Teessiders, the 45-year-old Frenchman said: “I can confirm this is the best team in the league. I thought that before, now I can confirm it. They are very strong technically, able to keep the ball for a long time and find the spaces, strong counter press, they are a top, top team.

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“I hope they finish in the top two positions because I think they deserve it with their qualities. Sometimes you have to just congratulate the opponent and say we faced a better team than us and accept the situation. It shows us how we have to improve if we want to be close to this level in the future.”

After what was a dominant Boro performance in the capital, the Rs boss added: “When you lose against a top, top team you have to accept they are better than us. This is the reality.

“They deserve the win. More quality individually and collectively, more quality with and without the ball. Except the beginning of the second half when we created short momentum, they were dominant.

“We conceded the second goal and the third arrived very quickly. It killed the game. You have to say we lost to a better team than us and they deserved the win.”

The victory for Boro means that with ten games remaining they’re four points better off than third placed Millwall and five points ahead of fourth placed Ipswich Town, who do have a game in hand.

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