JOSE GOMES says that he wants to build a team that can fight for promotion next season but is concerned about the club’s financial limitations.
His team play their final game of the season this Sunday against Birmingham City where the Royals fans will show their appreciation to the boss by celebrating ‘Portugal Day’ as they encourage fans to adorn the Madejski Stadium in Red and Green.
Gomes was keen to reiterate his gratitude to the Reading supporters since his arrival in December.
“This is a real honour for me to have my name connected with our flag, it means for me it’s more responsibility even though we don’t have anything to play for other than the three points and pride,” said the Reading boss.
“I’m really grateful for the way I’ve been treated since I arrived, I’ve felt its a very positive environment and the connection between the team and the fans has grown.”
The Portuguese manager reflected on his career so far at Reading which has seen him help the club steer away from the relegation zone and secure their Championship status for another season.
“In Portugal the managers that I talked with said that I was crazy and they are right. I look to this opportunity like it was my last chance and I took it with both hands and have given all of my energy to the challenge,” continued Gomes.
“I gave my life to Reading but I knew that if something went wrong that it could have been my first and last experience in England, so there were only two options – to win or win.
“I arrived Boxing Day and, after eight training sessions, we had already played four games so it was really tough. It was a great learning moment but the good thing is that we passed the challenge and hopefully it will be the beginning of a long career in England.
Gomes remains positive that Reading will be able to build and improve on what has been a difficult season for the club but is concerned about the financial challenges and limitations.
“I’m excited for next season but also concerned about the limits of where we can work because of financial fair play. It depends on the financial issue but I really want to build a squad to fight for promotion but in this moment we cannot say.
“Hopefully we will find the financial solutions to bring players with quality to let us fight for the play-offs but we will see. I really want to build a squad and team to fight for something important.
“We will make a decision on the loan players that joined us in January in the next few weeks. Some of them want to stay, some of them want a higher challenge and some of them are dreaming of returning to their parent clubs.
“It’s a challenge but this league proves that anything can happen. We must be creative and work with the conditions we have to fight for something better but we cannot create the wrong expectations.”
