It’s curtains

HARRY REDKNAPP watched QPR crash at home and then admitted: “That’s curtains for us now.”

Rangers’ fifth game without a win leaves them second bottom of the Premier League — 10 points from safety with only four games to play.

Boss Redknapp said: “That’s curtains. It looks impossible now for sure.

“It’s disappointing, but I’ve had disappointments in football in the past and I’m sure I’ll have some more in the future.

“You can only do what you can do. I’ve tried my best, it’s not been good enough.”

The R’s were bottom and still awaiting their first league win over the season when Redknapp replaced Mark Hughes in November.

’Arry, who has bagged 20 points from 21 matches, added: “When I came here I felt it was still possible to keep us up.

“But you don’t really know what a club is like and what players are like until you work with them.

“Saying that, we’ve been in every game, apart from Liverpool at home when they absolutely battered us.

“It shows what a thin dividing line there is in the Premier League.

“It’s a big disappointment. But even today I felt we were bang in the game and were disappointed to come in 1-0 down.

“Without Bobby Zamora we lack a forward’s ball. Loic Remy needs to play off someone as he is not a target man.

“Adel Taarabt did well in the hole in the first half, but then we lost him and Andros Townsend due to injury and that was that.

“I don’t regret coming here. In the summer I thought QPR would do well this season.

“They failed to get Michael Dawson from Tottenham at the start of the season and that was a blow.

“But what probably cost Mark was losing Bobby and Andrew Johnson through injury.

“When you lose two strikers like that it’s difficult.”

Redknapp hinted he will stay at Loftus Road next season and said: “I’m not in a position to say where I can manage. I’m lucky I’ve got a job.

“People are saying we’ll bounce back straight away next season but the Championship is a demanding league. You have to play Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday — it’s relentless.

“You need the right characters in your squad. I’ve got some here but will need more.”

Redknapp says there is one major new signing QPR chairman Tony Fernandes needs to make as soon as the season ends.

He added: “What’s most important for this club is a new pitch — that one is not conducive to good football — it’s bobbly and bumpy.

“The first thing club needs to do in the summer is invest in a new pitch. It suits us when we play the likes of Spurs and Swansea.

“But it won’t suit the way I want to go next season.”

Redknapp saw his former Portsmouth, Southampton and Spurs striker Peter Crouch slot Stoke ahead three minutes before the break.

Crouchy — a Rangers fan as a boy — was then pulled back in the box by Clint Hill to allow Jonathan Walters to make it 2-0 with a 77th-minute penalty.

Redknapp said: “I’ve got nothing bad to say about Peter. He’s a good player and I’ve signed him many times.

“I even tried to bring him here in the summer and then in January.

It was only Crouch’s second goal in 27 games but Potters No 2 Dave Kemp said: “Peter has been playing well but not scored the goals he has in past seasons.

“Confidence is a major thing and he will be better for scoring here.”

Stoke’s second top-flight win of 2013 certainly eased their relegation worries.

They are now six points above the drop zone and Kemp added: “It wasn’t a must-win game but it was a like-to-win game.

“We won and our situation is now much better. It gives us a boost going into the game against Norwich.

“We’ve played better this season and lost.

“But confidence is a massive thing and hopefully we can carry this on.”