Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak has confirmed that Matt Schaub will remain as his starting quarterback for this weekend's match against the St Louis Rams.

Schaub has come under intense criticism for his performances in recent weeks, culminating in last Sunday's 34-3 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers - a match in which he threw three interceptions before being benched in the final quarter.

However, Kubiak has chosen to keep faith with the beleaguered 32-year-old for this weekend's NFL contest, although he admits that it was not an easy decision to make.

"Tough decision. Real tough. I feel like it's the best thing for our football team this weekend and so there was a lot of thought put into it, a lot of evaluations," Kubiak told reporters.

"We talked to him about my process and what I go through to look at things so he understands where I'm coming from. We had a good meeting. I told him what I'm going to do and we moved forward."

Schaub became the first player in NFL history to throw interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in four straight games during last Sunday's defeat.