Reading manager Veljko Paunović admitted that a win against Bournemouth would give his team ‘an edge’ in their bid for promotion.
The Royals, currently in fifth position in the Championship, face Bournemouth on Friday evening who are just one place and one point behind.
“It’s very important, we are playing against another team in the top six, which is where we want to remain before the final stretch of the season,” said Paunović.
“Winning would give us an edge and recover the game where we were defeated earlier in the season against Bournemouth. Everyone is in combat mode and ready for tomorrow.
“They have confidence and quality in attack, as a squad, they have a good approach towards every game and a lot of experience.
“We are also in a good spot and more mature than we were before when we played them the first time, so I think it will be a different game.
“It’s a special game for many reasons. It always requires tuning one way or the other, we don’t want the guys to burn out but we don’t want them to start on the back foot and that will be key.
“We have put together a strategy, and recovered players, and recovered a special mood and spirit which we had at the beginning of the season. We are all excited about tomorrow’s game to try and continue our run.”
The Royals boss also confirmed that the club are still active in the transfer market with just four days left before the window shuts.
“We are active in the market, we are looking at the possibilities and targets we have. Our best signings are coming from home with the boys recovering.
“We are ready if some of the targets we have are set to come to us. I don’t want to give false expectations to anyone, but we are active.
“If we can bring somebody to raise the level and improve the depth of the team, and not damage our environment, that will be a plus. If not, we don’t need anyone.
“The overall depth is something we want to increase, we have had a lot of injuries, like many teams, you have to be ready for that and you have to have options.
“The schedule is more intense and that will increase the emotional discharge that every game will bring and that can lead to risks.”
Paunovic also confirmed that Yakou Meite and Andy Yiadom are both back from injury and available for selection.
“We have the same team available from last week, and are ready to involve Yakou Meite and Andy Yiadom.
“The rest of the injured players are still recovering. Liam Moore, Felipe Araruna and George Puscas are still recovering.
“They are looking good and looking strong. That’s always the goal when they come back we can expect even better performances from them.
“Michael (Olise) will be involved, he recovered pain free this week. We have reduced those risks to the minimum and we expect from him a solid, and for his age, a mature performance because everyone has to compete.”
Paunović also praised the maturity of his side, which he believes has vastly improved since the Royals’ 4-2 defeat at Bournemouth in November.
“At that point, we thought the game was over and that was an immature approach, and I include myself in that. We all work together and that’s something we have learned from that game.
“The accumulation of things. One of the things is the team being capable of bouncing back from defeats then being able to sustain from injuries and stay in the top six, and get results nobody thought we would get.
“Then we came back in a game when we were losing, and the maturity signs are all there. The progression has been consistent.”
