Paulo Sousa does not want to be known as the new José Mourinho but there are striking similarities between the new Queens Park Rangers first-team coach and the “Special One”. Sousa knows how to dress, how to charm and how to produce a winning team. QPR were a shambles when they lost 3-0 away to Watford in Sousa’s first game in charge on Saturday, but three days later they ground out a win thanks to some inspirational Portuguese man-management and two goals by Dexter Blackstock.

“I’m very proud of José because he is Portuguese and he’s a winner,” Sousa said. “I want to be a winner, too. I speak to him often because he has more experience than me but I’m going to do things my way and I believe in what I can do.”

Doing things Sousa’s way in his first game in charge at Loftus Road meant playing with three forwards, keeping possession and attacking at every opportunity in the early stages. Everything was going to plan when Blackstock gave QPR the lead in the seventeenth minute after good work on the left wing by Damiano Tommasi, but Charlton Athletic clawed their way back into the game and were unlucky not to leave with at least one point.

“Charlton are a great team,” Sousa said graciously before anyone had a chance to tell him that they had not won for almost two months. That run of results cost Alan Pardew his job as manager last weekend — with a £1.6 million payoff — and there were signs last night that their players, under Phil Parkinson, the caretaker manager, had realised that they could be earning Coca-Cola League One wages unless they wake up.

“I asked for a reaction from the players and I got it,” Parkinson said. “Results are everything in football but everyone can see that we played well.”

Blackstock’s first goal owed much to bad defending — Mark Hudson and Linvoy Primus, the Charlton centre backs, barely moved a muscle as Blackstock raced into the penalty area — but QPR proved that they know a thing or two about atrocious defending after half an hour when Charlton equalised against the run of play. Damion Stewart and Kaspars Gorkss, the QPR defenders, decided to stand and watch a cross by Hameur Bouazza roll in front of them and were punished when Therry Racon scored his first goal for Charlton from close range.

Primus and Luke Varney wasted good chances to put Charlton in front in the second half before Blackstock headed a deep cross by Hogan Ephraim past Nicky Weaver in front of QPR’s lowest league crowd of the season — only 12,286 for a London derby.

Queens Park Rangers (4-3-3): R Cerny — P Ramage, D Stewart, K Gorkss, D Delaney — H Ephraim, M Leigertwood, D Tommasi (sub: G Mahon, 61min) — D Parejo (sub: E Ledesma, 73), D Blackstock, S Di Carmine (sub: P Agyemang, 46). Substitutes not used: J Cole, J Oastler. Booked: Leigertwood, Delaney.

Charlton Athletic (4-4-2): N Weaver — M Cranie (sub: L Sam, 82), L Primus, M Hudson, K Youga — K Gillespie, J Semedo, T Racon, H Bouazza — A Gray, M Waghorn (sub: L Varney, 62). Substitutes not used: R Elliot, M Holland, J Fortune. Booked: Hudson

Referee: K Stroud.