Queens Park Rangers goal hero Damion Stewart today spoke of the unity behind the Championship club's great start to the season.

Rangers caused one of the shocks of the Carling Cup third round by knocking out Aston Villa and the Jamaican international said: "There's a lot of love flowing around our dressing room."

Stewart won the hearts of Rangers fans at Villa Park when he came up from defence to head the powerful 58th-minute winner.

"It wasn't a case of Villa not performing," he said. "We've been playing well since the start of the season and this result was just a continuation of what we've been doing. The unity is good and the spirit in the side is good."

Rangers boss Iain Dowie said the victory meant that mediocrity is no longer the norm at the club.
Since arriving at Loftus Road in May, Dowie has worked hard to prove that while cash-flow is no longer a problem thanks to the club's billionaire backers, a decent team still need the kind of steely attributes that money alone cannot buy.

It was appropriate that Stewart ghosted up from defence to score from Dani Parejo's pinpoint cross.

That is because it is Dowie's defence that should take the plaudits for earning a place in the next round and for establishing Rangers as genuine Championship promotion contenders.

Dowie said: "We're not giving too many goals away in open play, we're much more resolute.

"We got beat heavily at Sheffield United early in the season and I take the blame for that. But since then we've become a team with resolve."

In the seven games since going down 3-0 at Bramall Lane, Rangers have conceded just three goals — and there is nothing lucky about that record. After watching Villa beat West Brom at the weekend, Dowie decided that good defending would be the key to a strong performance at Villa Park.

He said: "We're a big side but they're the biggest side on the planet. And with Ashley Young, who in my opinion is one of the best wingers in terms of delivery, we knew we were going to have to be bang on.

"So we worked hard in training on that and the tip sheet I gave the lads before the game reminded them that we had to defend set-pieces. As it turned out, we dealt with them well.

"I've said before how I like the smell of the dressing room.

"I'm not talking about liniment, I'm talking about character. We've a great bunch of lads."

Dowie made five changes to the side that lost at Coventry on Saturday. Parejo, Fitz Hall, Matt Connolly and Patrick Agyemang all returned to the starting line-up while Akos Buzsaky made his first start of the season.

The only goal of the game came just before the hour when Buzsaky won and then took a corner from the left.

Villa's defence only cleared it as far as Parejo lurking on the right and his whipped-in cross was met by Stewart.

"It was a great delivery and a great header," said Dowie. "It was worthy of winning the match."