Veljko Paunović labelled Reading’s Friday night clash at Barnsley as the ‘biggest game of the season’ as they go head-to-head with a fellow play-off rival.
“I agree that it is our biggest game of the season,” said Paunović.
“We are aware of what it means to the group, our fans and the whole club.
“We’ve had two weeks to wok and recover to prepare for this challenge.
“That has been very helpful and we have focused in the last week towards building the enthusiasm and momentum towards the upcoming games.”
The Reading boss is fully focused ahead of eight vital games to end the Championship season as the Royals look to secure a place in the top-six, with their first test coming against fifth placed Barnsley on Friday.
“I’ve been in battles like this before,” continued Paunović.
“Thanks to our hard work, we have put ourselves in this position.
“We have to embrace the challenges and be at our best in the eight games. The situation we are in is due to fantastic application from the group all season and now we have to convert it.”
The Royals boss also confirmed positive news on the injury front concerning John Swift, Michael Morrison and Andy Yiadom.
“The list of injured players is slowly going down. For Swift, we are looking for him to be involved in the next couple of weeks but not for Barnsley.
“He (Swift) is in the final stages of recovery but it will be too soon for this Friday, but the next couple of weeks he will be an option.”
“Morrison and Yiadom are back in training and we are assessing their situations daily and we will make a last minute decision for Friday.”
