ALAN REEVES insists he is happy to take the brunt of the supporters' anger if it avoids further damaging the confidence of Town's youngsters.

The 34-year-old could not prevent a sixth successive defeat as Andy King's men went down 2-0 to QPR on Saturday.

The manager said Reeves' performance at Loftus Road had answered those who jeered the defender so mercilessly on Wednesday night, but Reeves himself said he was big enough to take the flak of frustrated supporters.

He said: "Someone is going to bear the brunt of the crowd's anger and I would rather they were taking it out on me than the young lads who might not have the experience to take it.

"Personally, all I can do is my best. I hope the fans can appreciate it.

"What we don't want is the domino effect setting in. One defeat should not immediately lead to another.

"Even when we went one-nil down on Saturday I was trying to rally the lads and say it was just one goal and we could fight back.

"But if you haven't been here before, and I've been in a side that went 19 games without a win, you really have to show strength and character."

Andy King said: "Alan Reeves was a leader out there against QPR. The only way to answer your critics is out on the pitch and I think he did just that.

"But it's not just one player who will turn things around. It's now up to me as a manager and them as players to prove we can get a result and stop the rot."

Player-coach Neil Ruddock goes into hospital tomorrow for an exploratory operation on his right knee.

The 34-year-old hobbled off in a reserve game at Cambridge three weeks ago and is anxious to have the problem cleared up.

He said: "I'm gutted because I felt I was almost there in terms of being fit enough to be considered for first team selection.

" This has obviously put me back but once it's done, I'll be working even harder to get back."