Paulo Sousa was pleased with the effort and commitment of his players as they gained a point at in-form Crystal Palace this afternoon.

Heidar Helguson came on in the second-half to make his R's debut following his loan arrival from Bolton, and he could have given his new team the lead with his very first touch.

His effort whizzed wide of the right-hand post, however, and Sousa told www.qpr.co.uk: "Up until that point I felt we were in control of the match.

"We had other chances as well, but that was the most clear-cut.

"I am very proud of my team. It is not easy for them to adapt to new ideas, especially in such a short space of time, but I am very happy with them."

Sousa reserved special praise for his new striker, explaining: "Heidar came in and has had only one training session with us, so to do as well as he did today shows me that he can become an important player for us.

"One of my aims is to give my players confidence, because I know they are good footballers. And the best way to gain confidence is by winning matches.

"My feeling is that we are now creating more and more chances in front of goal, and as the team grows together I am confident that we will continue to do better and better. I am very sure about that, I have no doubts.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, Sousa added: "Together we will make decisions about what is best to do. We will look for the correct players to improve the squad."