Matt Taylor's pre-match message to his Rotherham United players with his job on the line

With his injury-hit side in the bottom three with only two wins from 13 matches, the manager accepts his position is under scrutiny, particularly after the Millers' limp showing in last Sunday's 2-0 derby defeat at Sheffield Wednesday,

He is seeking a response at AESSEAL New York Stadium this afternoon against 23rd-placed opponents who have lost their last six matches and are one spot below the home side.

“You can talk all day long, but it's all about action,” Taylor said. "Players have to take responsibility. The biggest trust I can put in them is putting them on the pitch this weekend.

“My job is on the line. Who I put on the pitch as manager reflects who I trust, ultimately. Will they repay that trust with a performance that says they're fighting for the club and they're doing the best they possibly can? I hope so.

“The first action in the game is going to be really important. You all saw what happened ten minutes into the derby (Rotherham gave the ball away cheaply and the Owls scored).”

It is only six months since Taylor ended Rotherham’s yo-yo existence between the Championship and League One by keeping them in the second tier in his first season in charge.

As much as he is feeling the strain now, he says he felt more pressure during the survival run-in last term.

“Making sure the team stayed in the league was my toughest time,” he said. “The magnitude of that always gets put to one side because it's been and gone.

“In terms of my position, I understand the question. It probably is (the toughest time) in terms of that. I'm not naive enough to think that if results don't change and if we don't see more in performances that my job is not at risk.

“I know what I am as a person and I'd like to think I know what the majority of my players are like. I'll learn a little bit more on Saturday.

“Before the game, I'll be able to look at a few of them and say: ‘Okay, the previous week happened, now you've got to really show me.’ Hopefully by half-time a few will have shown me what I want to see. And I'll have shown them. It goes both ways."

QPR will be playing under new boss Marti Cifuentes for the first time following the sacking of Gareth Ainsworth.

“There’s uncertainty there because we’ve no idea what we’ll come across,” Taylor said.