JAAP STAM feels his side showed their qualities at both ends of the pitch during a breathless 2-1 win over Bristol City at Madejski Stadium.
Royals stormed into a 2-0 lead before the 20 minute mark thanks to goals from Garath McCleary and Roy Beerens but were pegged back for large spells of the second half.
And the Robins set up a grandstand finish when Gary O’Neil fired in from 20 yards in the 87th minute to give Reading fans some late hearts in mouths moments.
But the hosts held on to record a fifth straight league win to stay third in the Championship table.
“Five wins in a row is a good feeling,” said Stam.
“It is good for the confidence that we already had.
“We knew today we were facing a good team with a mixture of older and younger players and a good footballing team.
“That’s what you’ve seen especially in the second half.”
He added: “We can not only attack and play combination football but we can defend as well and that’s what you’ve seen today.
“The guys have worked very hard and sometimes you want a bit more control but it doesn’t always work out like that because you’re playing good teams.
“But I’m very happy with the win, eventually, and am looking forward to the next game.”
Reading’s second goal caught the eye as the hosts rounded off a fabulous passing move to go 2-0 up when Beerens slammed in a well executed volley.
And Stam says the goal highlighted what his side had been working on in the build-up.
“It was very good,” said the Dutchman.
“We spoke before the game about where we can hurt them and make it difficult for them and it was from the sides because their wingers don’t like to defend.
“And with the movement that we have you want to create spaces and it was good run from Gunts (Chris Gunter), a good cross and a great finish from Roy.
“It’s a thing we want to see and we did it so that gives us a very good feeling.”
Bristol City so nearly pulled one back on 79 minutes when Tammy Abraham broke through,
only to be denied by a Liam Moore block.
But that piece of defending was bettered on the follow-up when Bobby Reid’s effort was heroically stopped by Paul McShane.
“There is a lot of commitment in the team and especially those two (Moore and McShane),” said Stam.
“They are always talking before the game, talking to the rest of the players, keeping everybody on their toes to keep performing and not concede goals and keep winning games.
“If you want to do well and keep winning your games you need to have winners in your team.
“You need to have people that are pushing other players within the team because everybody needs to stay sharp.
“You see the mentality of those two, but it’s not only them, it’s everybody.”
REPORT: Reading 2-1 Bristol City – Royals survive late Robins revival
