QPR boss Neil Warnock savoured one of the most satisfying wins of his managerial career as his side moved eight points clear at the top of the npower Championship with a 1-0 win at Reading.
Warnock was incensed by referee Russell Booth's decision to send off winger Hogan Ephraim in the 42nd minute but saw Wayne Routledge's late goal put him on track for a seventh promotion as a manager.
He said: "It's one of the best wins of my career to be honest. It's nights like this why I don't retire. My heart will probably go first. I'm so proud of my lads and you can't buy a feeling like that. Every one of them gave me everything and when I'm sat on my tractor after I've retired, writing the odd newspaper column, I'll miss nights like this."
Ephraim saw red when he lunged at Reading winger Jimmy Kebe after losing control of the ball at full pelt. Booth showed a straight red card but Warnock felt Royals captain Matt Mills - who was first on the scene - played a part.
He said: "I was disappointed to be honest in the red card. It's a bad tackle, but it's a winger's tackle isn't it? I've seen yellow cards given for that in the past and that would have done it.
"Mills was at the referee straight away screaming at him which didn't help and he gets a red card. It was a disgrace. I don't know how professionals get away with that. I don't think he would have sent him off until Mills got involved to be honest.
"But we wanted to be positive in the second half. I wanted some guts and wanted us to go for it and we did that. We could have took Adel Taarabt off, gone one up front and try and hold on for a point but we tried that here last year and lost. I learned a lot from that.
"So I kept three up there and tried to push them back. You wouldn't have thought we had 10 men in that half."
Reading manager Brian McDermott insisted that his side must learn from their tepid second-half showing.
"We were in the ascendancy when it was 11 v 11 so it didn't do us any favours when he went off," he said. "We had some half chances but we didn't play as well as we should have after they went down to 10 men.
Source: PA
