Nahki Wells looks set to be on the substitutes’ bench today when Queens Park Rangers host Derby County.

Steve McClaren, the QPR manager, hinted that Tomer Hemed, another loan player this season, will be restored to the starting line-up as he looks to rotate players during a busy schedule that takes in three games in the space of a week.

Hemed, on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion, came on to replace Wells in the 75th minute of Tuesday’s match with Reading, which QPR won 1-0.

McClaren now looks set to start him today, with Wells possibly being rested.

“We have Nahki and Tomer to kind of rotate in a busy week,” McClaren told West London Sport. “We’ve got to recover and be ready for Derby now.”

McClaren revealed that a frank exchange of views between his players led to an improved display at the Madejski Stadium after back-to-back defeats, including a 3-0 loss away to relegated Swansea City.

“We were very disappointed at Swansea; it was never a 3-0 game,” McClaren said. “The players knew that, but you still have to go out and prove it. And they did that. Credit to them.

“They got together [after the Swansea defeat] and there were a few home truths told. The players sorted it out and they were ready to play.

“I said that the first ten minutes were going to be huge for us, and that was so important. We were so good in those ten minutes in terms of the aggression that we showed, our courage to play and our control in possession.

“It’s a small step and we’ve got to take another one on Saturday.”

Wells, still looking for his first goal in QPR colours, had a good scoring opportunity in the first half after combining with Ebere Eze, but his effort was pushed away by goalkeeper Sam Walker.