LONDON (Reuters) - Queens Park Rangers and Leicester City breathed a collective sigh of relief on Saturday as the Premier League relegation strugglers recorded much-needed wins.
QPR surged to a comprehensive 4-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion and Leicester edged out visiting West Ham United 2-1.
Rangers, 18th in the table, moved to within a point of the safety zone alongside Burnley, who play Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
QPR manager Chris Ramsey told reporters he was "very pleased" with the way his team had performed at the Hawthorns.
"We got three points that we really needed," he said. "The foundation was laid in the first half. We have created a lot of chances in a lot of the games we have played but haven't taken them. Today we did.
"West Brom is not an easy place to come so I am very pleased with how the players performed.
"The scoreline was brilliant for us regards goal difference, but it was a lot closer than the 4-1 score suggests."
QPR had previously won only one away league game all season and Ramsey believes the victory over West Brom may prove crucial in the fight for top-flight survival.
"We are closer to the teams we want to catch now and this result certainly helps us morale-wise," he said.
Leicester manager Nigel Pearson (LONDON:PSON) struck a similar note after his side's victory over the Hammers which was secured by a late strike from substitute Andy King.
"We hope today is a start of different fortunes for us, but it's one game in isolation" Pearson said of the Foxes, who remain bottom of the table and four points from safety.
"We deserved to win today. In the first half, we got off to a good start but missed a penalty. The players had a moment of doubting themselves, and it allowed West Ham to have a dominant spell. But we did a good job of taking the initiative and we deserved to win the game.
"We've had a bit of a frustrating time. We've been involved in some entertaining games, but when you come out on the receiving end, it tests your resolve."
