Hughes salutes Cisse impact
Mark Hughes praised QPR striker Djibril Cisse after he marked his debut with a stunning goal in the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.
Cisse only received clearance to play 90 minutes before kick-off but needed just 12 minutes to score the opening goal. A Stephen Warnock own goal doubled QPR's lead but Villa snatched a point thanks to Darren Bent's 100th Premier League goal and Charles N'Zogbia's first for the club.
Hughes said: "I thought Cisse was excellent and everyone can understand now why I wanted to bring him to the club. We only got clearance for him to play as I was walking into the entrance at Villa Park when a text came through. But he is going to be vital for us. He was bright, intelligent and powerful."
He added: "The fact he has already played in the Premier League (with Sunderland and Liverpool) was a factor in signing him because it means he can hit the ground running. It is difficult in January to bring players in who do not know the Premier League."
Hughes felt Bent's goal shortly before half-time was the turning point. He said: "Had we gone in 2-0 up, it would have been more difficult for Villa to come back into the game. But the goal gave them a lift, they gained momentum in the second half and we could not stop an equaliser.
"But I was delighted to get something away from home as we have not picked up too many points on our travels this season."
Alex McLeish is demanding his side reproduce their second-half performance for 90 minutes in games after being unhappy with their first-half efforts. He said: "We showed a lot of resilience again to come back but I was not pleased with the first-half performance.
"The goals were a joke but we were pedestrian, there was no imagination or creation. The goal just
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