ONE defeat in 11 or no win in five? Burnley’s recent form is all about perspective.

Was the derby day defeat to Preston an aberration or should it set alarm bells ringing?

That was a subject of much debate during the week leading up to this trip to Loftus Road and Burnley, for the most part, answered positively.

Going away from home to a team with a good record in front of their own fans, in form and buoyed by the arrival of a new manager, is about as tough as it gets.

This was almost textbook in how to negate that new manager bounce. Burnley weathered brief storms and, for the most part, defended superbly.

The defensive record this season hasn’t been as strong as it was two years ago, but in this performance there were encouraging signs.

It was a sixth clean sheet of the season and it was well earned.

Tom Heaton was rarely called into action, although he saved well with his legs from Matt Phillips.

That chance came about when Michael Keane allowed Phillips the time and space to face him up in the area, but it was a rare mistake. He was commanding aerially all game, as was Michael Duff.

Whenever the central defenders were caught out it was usually Tendayi Darikwa who was covering.

He has faced pressure for his place from Matt Lowton but in a team that is lacking pace his speed is a vital asset.

He used it well to cover defensively and was a regular outlet going forward.

But while this was an improvement defensively from last weekend, the Clarets struggled to string moves together going forward.

Sam Vokes and Danny Ings had an almost telepathic understanding in the promotion season of 2013/14, but it is not happening with Vokes and Andre Gray at the moment.

Vokes was dominant in the air in the first half, but when he won a flick-on there was nobody there to collect it. Gray was usually on the other side of the pitch and QPR could build again. Individually they both played well, but the link-up play was often missing, and that made it difficult for Burnley to look threatening going forward.

But a point from this game was always going to be a good outcome. A win may have been craved to put last week’s disappointment to bed, but this result can’t be framed in anything other than positive terms.

It means the Clarets have had four draws and a defeat from their last five games. It’s an identical sequence to one they had at this time of the campaign two years ago, and they recovered then. It’s also now just one defeat in 22 Championship away games dating back to that season. It’s a fine run.

That this team are resilient and resolute cannot be in doubt.

Sean Dyche said his side had expected a strong start from the hosts and they weren’t to be disappointed.

Joey Barton was applauded on his return to Loftus Road but the cheers turned to jeers after just three minutes when he only escaped a caution for pulling back Leroy Fer and halting an R’s counter-attack because of the time on the clock.

While the Hoops had plenty of possession early on, they struggled to breach Burnley’s defences.

James Perch saw a goalbound shot deflected wide, before Fer headed a corner straight at Heaton.

Barton was soon face down on familiar turf. He rushed out to block Sandro’s shot midway through the half and took the blow in the face, immediately collapsing to the ground, although he recovered quickly and was fine to carry on.

On the half hour Heaton made his best and only testing save of the afternoon when he used his legs to stop Phillips’ effort.

First-half efforts for the Clarets, backed by a superb away following of over 1,500, were few and far between.

Barton had sent in a 35-yard free-kick which Rob Green made to look far more dangerous than it was as he juggled the ball, while the former England goalkeeper had to be sharp to reach Grant Hall’s header back before Gray, who had struggled to beat the offside trap but remained a willing runner.

In the second half Vokes and Gray were mostly feeding on scraps.

Green smothered the ball from Gray, and then Scott Arfield, in the area, before the £6m striker had his shirt pulled in the box after turning his man.

Anywhere else on the pitch it would have been a free-kick, but Gray refused to go down and ploughed on, eventually winning a corner.

Dyche refused to be critical of the officials after the game but it should have been a penalty.

Former Claret Charlie Austin arrived off the bench on the hour and six minutes later he probably regretted spurning a shooting opportunity from outside the area when Karl Henry’s tame shot from his pass was straight at Heaton.

In the final 20 minutes it was Burnley who looked most likely. Vokes’ headed over Barton’s cross and Gray fired over from the edge of the area.

But a fine afternoon’s work was almost ruined.

Only one minute of added time was played but QPR ramped up the pressure, and after a brave clearance from Keane from one corner the next saw Hall head goalwards only for Scott Arfield to head off the line.

It preserved a hard-earned point for Burnley.