Hughes' first game in charge ended in defeat on Sunday when his new side lost 1-0 at Newcastle to end the weekend in the Premier League relegation zone.
It was a 10th match without a win for the London side and they cannot afford to make that 11 if they are to avoid crashing out of the FA Cup on Tuesday night.
Sunday's game highlighted the problems at both ends of the field that cost Neil Warnock his job and have seen QPR make bids for striker Andrew Johnson and defenders Alex and Christopher Samba.
They have also been linked with a host of other players but Hughes was prepared to be patient when it came to ins and outs during the January transfer window.
Hughes, who was without key quartet Joey Barton, Adel Taarabt, Armand Traore and Alejandro Faurlin, said: "There are areas we can improve, that's obvious. We were missing players.
"And as the games come thick and fast, we would hope to welcome back some players and, if we can, bring players into the club who will help us.
"But it's difficult in January, we understand that. It's important that if you do target players, they have to come in and make an impact.
"It's important that we improve our goals-for column because that is hindering us at the moment.
"But we can't just isolate one unit of the team, it has to be a collective thing and if we improve all areas of the team then that will enable us to get in those positions more often, and then maybe our average conversion rate won't hinder us as much as it is maybe at the moment.
"In terms of futures, we are looking to make Queens Park Rangers better - obviously, that's the aim of everybody - and we want as many of the players who are at the club now to be part of that."
With barely 48 hours between Sunday's game and Tuesday's FA Cup third-round replay against MK Dons, Hughes admitted he would be forced to make some changes - but not many.
"We will have to make a few changes, but it won't be as wholesale as possibly people would think because it's important that I still get to know what I have got," he said.
"We have got a quick turnaround, so very quickly we have to understand who will be available.
"I need to use players who maybe haven't had much of an influence.
"So that gives me another opportunity to understand what I have got at the football club.
"The timing of it is a little bit unfortunate because of the (possible tube) strike on the Wednesday - that's why it's on the Tuesday night.
"It's not easy because it does have an effect on players' ability to play at the top of their game because of the closeness of the two fixtures.
"But, from my point of view, in terms of cup competitions, I have always taken the view that a good cup run can help your league form anyway.
"If we can progress in the competition, the opportunity to progress further will help our confidence and the fact that we are winning games, maybe, in cup competitions will help us in the league.
"I have always felt in the past that it's helped people."
