Loft full of memories

The midfielder was first taken to Loftus Road as a two-year-old in 1980. He walked to the FA Cup Final and replay against Tottenham from the family's Wembley home in 1982 and went to the 1986 Milk Cup semi-final at Liverpool on a coach specially hired by his Rangers-supporting family.

"I only became a footballer so I could play for QPR," he said.

But what if Sir Alex Ferguson wanted to sign you for Manchester United? "I'd go but I'd get loaned back," he replied, quick as a flash. You only have to spend some time at Rangers' West Acton training ground to appreciate that Bircham is the heart and soul of the dressing room.

He is the chief mickey-taker. He sings in the canteen after training and even calls boss Ian Holloway 'Gollum', after the goblin from Lord of the Rings.

But Gallen, who has been around at QPR long enough for mullets to go out of and back into fashion, is said to be the leader of the fanatical foursome.

He only half-jokingly questions the Rangers credentials of his three junior colleagues. "They probably watched the games on telly," sniffed the 29-year-old.

Hammersmith-born Gallen's love affair with the Rs dates back to the late 1970s.

"I was brought up in Acton and would look out of the bottom window of our house and see the floodlights at the ground," he explained.

"My Dad started going in the 1960s and as soon as my two brothers and I were old enough to go, we went with him. My first match was in 1979. I went with my Dad and sat on his lap. We used to go home and away. My Dad still has a season ticket - he refuses any freebies from me."

While devotion to a club does not make you a better footballer, supporters undoubtedly take these players to their hearts above the money-grabbers increasingly prevalent in the modern game.

Does life-long support give you a better rapport with the crowd?

"I think it does," said winger Cook, who joined from Watford last July. "All the supporters know I was a Rangers fan when I was growing up. They give you that little bit extra support."

Gallen added: "I like to think it helps. I've been here a long time now but I've always had a good relationship with the fans. Of course if you're playing rubbish, they will get on your back but I think you've got more leeway if you're a supporter."

Miller admits his head has been spinning since last month, when he was signed by Holloway from non-league Aldershot in a £35,000 deal.

He recalled: "The day I found out the first thing I did was ring my Dad, who is also a Rangers fan. We were both speechless and welling up on the phone."

Miller believes his QPR connection has helped him settle at the club. He said: "It feels like the fans are kicking every ball with me. I am doing what they want to be doing. I am almost living their dream."

In an age when romance in football is all but extinct, the QPR quartet are carrying the flag for old-fashioned virtues.