Players Still Believe

As Jeff Stelling would say, it’s doom and gloom at the bottom end of the Premier League table at the moment.

As a fan, sadly my confidence in the team is beginning to wain, but luckily my opinion counts for nothing, as the players have spoken of their belief that the can stay in the top flight.

Royals ‘keeper Marcus Hahnemann feels Reading have more than enough quality to stay in the league.

He said, ‘The squad we have now is, with a few exceptions, finished eighth last season. So obviously we have enough within it to be OK.

‘Being in the relegation zone won’t change the way we do things one little bit. OK, we haven’t had the best results lately, but the performance at Everton was great.’

Ibrahima Sonko, back from the African Nations Cup, echoed Hahnemann’s views and believes the players will be boosted by the performance at Goodison Park.

He told the official club site, ‘Team spirit is up, we did much better.

‘Hopefully we can keep it up, and if we play the same against Villa we can get something from the game’.

Sonko also believes that the added competition for places will give the players a boost.

‘There’s a lot of competition, and that is good for the team, it makes you play better.’

Royals coach Wally Downes added, ‘At any club you need competition for places.

‘As a player, when you see new faces coming in you try to be better than them to secure your place in the team and the new boys have to lift their game to try and get into the side. So it’s always a healthy thing.’

The players and the management certainly believe the Royals can stay up, now they just have to convince the fans.

Reading host Villa a week on Saturday, and a win for the home side would go long a way in restoring some much needed confidence amongst the fans.



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