DARREN Pratley laid into “soft” Wanderers after they surrendered a point in injury time at QPR.

The Whites captain, returning for only his second game since January 31, wasn’t even on the pitch as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas rifled home a 94th minute winner at Loftus Road.

But the midfielder reckons the team should take collective culpability for failing to gain a positive result having led 2-0 after just 11 minutes.

“It doesn’t matter if it was an individual mistake or what went wrong, we lose together,” he told The Bolton News. “To let them back in like that is sloppy and soft.

“They took the lead with a worldie but at 3-3 we just had to see the game out. There were 30 seconds to go, it’s the last kick of the game, and it’s poor.

“It’s a different atmosphere and attitude if we take a point into the international break. QPR isn’t an easy place to play but having been 2-0 up and then 3-3 it’s very, very poor to get nothing and now it’s doom and gloom for the next two weeks.”

Pratley refused to lay any blame at the feet of referee Darren Drysdale, who came in for stinging criticism from manager Neil Lennon.

“It would be an excuse,” he said. “The referee didn’t put the ball in the back of the net with 30 seconds to go.

“From my point of view there’s no point in talking about him. It’s just an excuse.”

Pratley admits his own preparation for the game had been limited, with Lennon explaining only last week that he would need games in the development squad or behind closed doors to get up to match speed.

But the 30-year-old is happy to be back in the frame after missing the back end of last season with a hamstring injury and damaging his ankle against Derby County on the opening day of the current campaign.

“It’s good to be back,” he said. “I’d been running with the fitness staff and only trained twice this week and the gaffer through me in. I felt okay even though I only lasted 60 minutes.

“I want to be playing football, even though the feeling isn’t great at the moment.

“The international break gives us a chance to assess and try to start again. A point would have been a good one and it’s disappointing to me that we didn’t see it out.”