QPR are being backed to shock the Premier League, by former Fulham striker Barry Hayles.
Hayles - recalling how it was the year after the Whites topped the Championship to go up 10 years ago - believes it could be a struggle for the Hoops, even though they topped the table comfortably and have funds for transfers.
"It's going to be tough and they might get a rude awakening, because there's not doubt there's still a great deal of difference between the Championship and the Premier League, " Hayles, who played a big part in Fulham's promotion in 2001, told the Ealing Gazette.
"It's something we quickly found out, even though we had been by far and away the top dogs the year before.
"Teams keep the ball more and they are very clinical in the Premier League. In the Championship, you might give teams three of four chances before they score, but in the Prem, it's often the first chance you get crucified for.
"QPR don't necessarily have to spend heavily, but have to get a solid base to stop teams and then try to work out how they are going to do it going forward.
"Blackpool did it the other way round and it worked for a while but they got caught out in the end. But for their great start, they would have been dead and buried by the end of March."
