Copps: Don’t Judge on Villa Game

Royals boss Steve Coppell has warned against reading too much into his team selection for their final friendly at home to Aston Villa.

The Royals play host to Villa on Saturday, a game which will see Steve Sidwell returning to the Madejski Stadium for the second time since leaving the club last July.

The final friendly is often used to play the starting eleven for the season opener, in Reading`s case, away at Forest. Coppell has however stated that the side he picks on Saturday, will not necessarily be the side to play away at Forest a week on Sunday.

Coppell has made it clear that his entire squad will be given a chance at some point in the season and Saturday`s line-up will not reflect his season plan.

‘It will obviously be a pointer but I know I’m going to use each and every one of those players and possibly one or two more over the course of the next nine months if we are to have a successful campaign.

‘The Villa game will be our toughest of pre-season to date because they are terrific players. They’re already up to speed because they’ve played in their Uefa Cup qualifier so they’re going alright at the moment.

‘I know Martin O’Neill won’t stand for any half-hearted performances either.’