QPR took advantage of their two-week break today by flying to the Algarve for a warm-weather training camp.

The Premier League strugglers do not play this weekend following last month's FA Cup exit and manager Mark Hughes decided to take the squad away for a week.

The club were unable to train at their Harlington headquarters during the cold snap and spent most of last week at Loftus Road.

Hughes told QPR's official website: "We're going to Portugal to get some work done because we're struggling at our training ground.

"We have had to train at the stadium and we need to give that a break.

"It will give us the opportunity to have a couple of sessions a day and have a real understanding of what type of personalities we have and how they react to situations."

The trip to southern Portugal will see Samba Diakite join up with his new team-mates for the first time following the completion of the African Nations Cup.

Diakite, who joined QPR on loan until the end of the season from Nancy, reached the semi-finals of the competition with Mali.

Hughes and the squad were flying into Faro Airport on Tuesday afternoon, with midfielder Diakite set to join them on Wednesday.