Queens Park Rangers have issued players with a strict code of conduct as they bid for a late push for the Championship playoff places.

The London side - relegated from the top flight last season - have produced a new 27-page manual explaining how their charges should behave off the pitch.

Among the directives are a ban on "caps or other headwear" when players are "on the team coach or at the dining table", while another instructs them not to "engage in any strenuous activity, including golf, within two days of participating in a match without the permission of the head coach".

Players are also advised to keep alcohol consumption "to a minimum and preferably avoided entirely" and are banned from using mobile phones or music players in the changing rooms at Loftus Road.

Les Ferdinand, QPR's director of football, told the Evening Standard: "Most, if not all, football clubs will have a code of conduct in place – and we are certainly no different.

"Football clubs are constantly under scrutiny and it is important to have code of conducts in place to ensure players are aware of their responsibilities as representatives of the clubs and their communities."

QPR currently sit 13th in the Championship, 10 points off the top six.