Adkins speaks of Prem blueprint

Nigel Adkins’ Reading side was only relegated last week, but is already talking about the Royals’ future in the Premier League.

The former Southampton boss has pinpointed the approach taken by fellow Premier League sides Fulham, Stoke and West Brom, a plan that the Royals should follow, if and when we are back in the top division. Adkins also talked about no making massive changes when you are promoted, echoed by his former side Southampton.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Adkins said: ‘We’re not an established Premier League club. We’ve been in the division & the challenge now is to get back there and have a period of sustainability. From that the target would then be to become an established Premier League club. Fulham have managed that and I’d put West Brom & Stoke in the same bracket.’

‘There might be a situation where you yo-yo a bit between the divisions, that’s just being realistic. But the structure has to be right and I definitely believe we’re on the right lines for that. And when you do get promoted again you have to be able to sustain being in the Premier League & not make dramatic changes. You have to build gradually.’

This will obviously take time, as the gap in quality between Premier League and Championship standard is rising every season. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, we still need to go back up and as many say, the Championship is such a tough division to get out of.

Wiki page: Nigel Adkins