An early goal from Kuryu Matsuki set Saints on their way before Cameron Bragg, Keven Schlotterbeck and Wellington added to the scoreboard in the second half, with Richard Kone netting the R’s consolation.

The loss leaves QPR in ninth, just a week after their extraordinary 5-0 dismantling of promotion hopefuls Swansea had pushed them back into the play-off positions.

Stéphan said: “We lost against a better team than us, that’s very clear. We started the game well and created some big chances in the first ten to 15 minutes, we did some good things collectively during the first half.

"We had some chances to score and this kind of game is one where if you don't take your opportunities then it becomes more difficult.

"The main disappointment that I have is the start of the second half and I don't know why we started it like we did.

"The first 20 minutes was very poor for us technically and we lost a lot of balls, we had to stay in a low position and against a team with this quality they killed the game in this period.”

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Kone’s record-breaking hat-trick against Swansea last week will live long in the memory, and he was the only player to really trouble the Saints backline when he fired home in the 68th minute.

Southampton, widely tipped as promotion contenders, moved up to fifth in the table, just five points off Middlesbrough at the summit.

Stéphan said: “Southampton and Middlesbrough are the two best teams so it’s not a big surprise. It’s positive to see in the first half that we can compete with them away from home, but if you want to have a top result you need the consistency throughout 95 minutes.

“We knew it was really important to stay ambitious on the ball and this is what we did in the start of the season and the first half here. But when the technique is not there, you can use a different shape but the technique is the basis of football.”

Rangers have the chance to bounce straight back on Tuesday night as struggling Burnley visit Loftus Road.