When Julien Stéphan spoke after the game about the imperative need to ‘reset quickly’, it felt more like survival instinct rather than a rallying cry for his players.

Three days after an impressive win at Hull, Queens Park Rangers were dismantled by Southampton at St Mary’s. The scoreline was emphatic, the performance alarming, and the wider themes increasingly familiar.

This was not just about losing to a strong side chasing the play-offs. It was about how Rangers lost, and what it says about where this squad is, both physically and mentally.

Even the pre-match optics felt off. Pink and black against red and white stripes under the lights made for a kit clash that was, at best, distracting. Given how often Rangers misplaced simple passes, the colour clash did them no favours.

Southampton started exactly as manager Tonda Eckert would have wanted for a side now only four points off the play-off positions. Nine minutes in, Finn Azaz punished the away side’s passivity.

Found by Ryan Manning on the edge of the box, he shifted the ball inside with one touch, wrong-footing Isaac Hayden, and curled a low finish into the far corner. It was a superb goal,...