Gaffer pleased to end poor run

Nigel Adkins seemed pleased, yet relieved, as he witnessed his side comfortably beat Blackpool by three goals at home.

Previous to the game, Reading had not won in seven games, which led to some expected criticism for the manager, who was coming under increasing pressure. However, goals from Glenn Murray, Nick Blackman and an own goal from Peter Clarke secured a crucial three points.

Speaking to the Official Reading FC website after the 3-0 victory, Adkins said: ‘I thought the players did really well. They responded from the disappointment of Bournemouth in midweek, we’ve scored three goals again at home and importantly, we’ve kept a clean sheet.’

‘We started the season in a good manner and we had some good results. But recently, we had some poor goals against us – today though, it’s a clean sheet and they’ve done everything required to win the game. The staff have also been magnificent – and we’re all in it together.’

Hopefully this will fend the Adkins doubters away for a little longer, despite Blackpool being a poor side. We will certainly face better teams in the coming weeks, but we needed this victory for our confidence and to end a run which was clearly affecting the players’ performances.