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JAAP STAM is taking Reading to Wembley in his first season of management in England.
The Royals completed a thrilling 1-0 win over Fulham at Madejski Stadium last night to go through 2-1 on aggregate and move just one step away from an unlikely return to the Premier League.
Reading’s opponents will be revealed tonight when Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday face each other after drawing 0-0 in the first leg of their semi-final on Sunday.
CHINESE DUO COMPLETE READING TAKEOVER
Here is what Jaap had to say in the press conference after beating Fulham.
On the game…
It was a tough one. We knew that from the start. We played very well in the first half in general, going forward and on the ball as well at times. Going forward, being a threat, creating a couple of good chances as well. Especially the first 20 or 25 minutes.
Then they got a little spell where they controlled the game a bit more, we needed to drop in a bit deeper because sometimes with their strikers you know what they’re going to be doing, they’re dropping in deep in midfield loads of times to create that extra midfield player to control the game.
We tried to manage that and most of the game we did it well with one of the centre-backs going in with them there so they wouldn’t have a lot of time on the ball to have possession which they like.
I think in the first half we played very well, aggressive in defending in pressing them so they needed to play that ball up front as well so we could win it quick and then on the break come out very dangerously.
Second half we spoke about what we needed to improve at certain times and what we needed to do to make it more difficult for them. We started well, scored that goal with that penalty from Yann after that it was have you got the belief and can you keep going forward and pressing them high up the pitch like you did before.
Straight after the goal we did that for several minutes. After that you see that the result is very important. I’ve been there myself as well, you think about that result and do you take risks in going forward or do you drop in deep and defend that 1-0. That’s what happened for 25-30 minutes of the game.
Of course then when they control the game they can make it difficult for you and you need to work hard.
You need to fight with everything that you have. That’s what we’ve done in several occasions throughout the season when we’ve played over here. When we were ahead against good sides we needed to hold on to get that win.
At the end of the day, a difficult second half but we worked very hard to get there. You’ve told me from the beginning of the season that in this league it’s not all about football, sometimes it’s also about results.
On surviving the last 20 minutes…
It’s not about the last 20 minutes. Don’t talk about that last 20 or 25 minutes of Fulham having control. Before that, in the 65 minutes we created a couple of very good chances where we could’ve scored the second one as well.
Because everybody is human, you remember what happens last and not what happened
before. We are proud in the total achievement that we have in what we’ve done, how we’ve played over two games against a good side.
You need to be honest, they have some very good players who play some very good football. But if you make it difficult and if you’re under their skin then you can see that they don’t like it.
On Ali Al-Habsi’s performance…
We all know that Ali is a great goalie. Throughout the season he has been great.
He made a couple of good saves and that’s why he’s in goal and that’s why he gets paid over here. If the defenders can’t do it, block that shot or mark that striker then he’s there at the end to stop him. Ali put in a terrific performance.
On Yann Kermorgant being the only man to score penalties in training…
That’s correct, yeah. We trained on it on Monday so that’s why I hoped it was going to finish within 90 minutes!
Yann with his experience, his technique and his kicking, nine out of 10 times he’s going to score a penalty kick.
With all the players you try to make it difficult, try to train on penalty kicks but you never get close to the ambience in the stadium, the crowd to get the exact same moments from the stadium when you take it in the training ground.
We found out ways to make it difficult in training for the players as well and you need to stay calm, you need to trust yourself and your kicking. Not thinking too much about which corner you’re going to shoot and that’s what Yann did.
On going back to Wembley…
It’s great to play over at Wembley. I’ve been there with my career of course when I was a player. As a manager to go back there of course it’s a different stadium but there’s a lot at stake, a big prize that you can win as a club and again an interesting game against a very good team in Huddersfield or Sheffield Wednesday.
Both are great sides so it’s going to be nice. A lot of attention on that game, stress on that game maybe and nerves to control as well. If you concede a goal it can be a very difficult game, but you need to trust in yourself as well and that’s what we’ve done today in believing in how you can play and taking some risks as well.
On Jordan Obita’s injury…
We need to have a look at how bad the injury is and if he’s going to be available for that game or not. He’s not ruled out yet.
His ankle twisted so we need to have a look. The doctors have had a look at his ankle. Sometimes it can take a certain time to get back fit, sometimes you want to take a bit of a risk as well as a player. We’ll have a look at him because he doesn’t need to take a big risk and then he’s out for longer.
