QPR without Joey Barton as problems mount for Chris Ramsey ahead of must-win Everton clash

JOEY BARTON has been so desperate to return to the QPR team he has picked up an injury and is a doubt for tomorrow’s home match against his boyhood favourites, Everton.

BartonGETTY

Chris Ramsey will be without Barton for the visit of Everton

The Rangers captain has been suspended for the last three matches after being sent off for a low blow against Tom Huddlestone in the 2-1 defeat at Hull last month and could miss out again. 

“He has come back into training and, because he is such a wholehearted player, he has been tearing about and got a knock,” said Chris Ramsey, the caretaker-manager.

“But he is available again for Sunday and is biting at the bit to be ready for selection. It has worked out better for us that the game is on Sunday because it gives him an extra day.”

Ordinarily it might be a risk to play a hyped-up Barton in a must-win match, especially against the team he supports. But QPR’s plight – four points from safety with only nine games to play – means Ramsey cannot afford to consider such factors. 

“If we were mid-table and could relax, then maybe I could,” he said. “At the moment I’ve got to think, ‘What XI can I put out that is going to perform out there and try to win the game?’ So I wish I had the luxury.

“But he has been really, really good around the place during the time he has not been playing. He has done extra training, and was even going to play in the under-21s the other day until he got the knock. He was out running [on Wednesday] so hopefully he can last 90 minutes if chosen.”

We re all in it together- Ramsey [AMBIENT]

We have got some important games coming up and we are in a position we don’t want to be in

Roberto Martinez

And can Ramsey trust Barton not to see red again?

“He got that red in my third game, so I haven’t had time to not trust him. I hope that he comes back and is ready and, if he’s selected, one thing you do know, and the fans know, that he is not going to leave anything out there. We hope that situation doesn’t happen again, because we do need him.”

Everton were torn apart in the Europa League last 16 by Dynamo Kiev on Thursday to darken the mood further on an already dour season.

Roberto Martinez’s side sit just six points above the Premier League drop zone – a far cry from the side that almost nicked a Champions League spot last season and there could be big changes at Goodison Park this summer.

England full-back Leighton Baines is well aware and warned his team-mates their futures are on the line after losing 5-2 to crash out 6-4 on aggregate.

He said: “You have got your own personal standards. In the last few seasons, we have been striving for something towards the end. This is now a bit different.

“We have got some important games coming up and we are in a position we don’t want to be in. The sooner we get a couple of wins on the board, the better. But it is about your own personal standards. The boys have got to keep their standards up. 

“With the way things have been going, you are playing for your future in some respects. That is a useful way of looking at it.”

Time and time again there has been talk of the Toffees “turning a corner” this season, but it just has not happened.

Baines added: “The Europa League is a competition that we have enjoyed and we wanted to do really well in it. This was all that we had left. 

“We had a great first season under the manager and we were all thinking that we would push on. 

“We had all the confidence in the world and I don’t think anyone would have foreseen the way things have gone this season. 

“We had been upbeat and positive and it just hasn’t been a good season.”

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