Jose Gomes said that Reading’s remaining four league matches in the Championship will be like ‘four finals’ as the Royals look to survive the drop.
The Royals picked up a vital point with a dramatic last-minute equaliser against league leaders Norwich City last week before continuing their good home form with a 2-1 victory over Brentford.
Despite two positive results, Jose Gomes is still insistent that his side must remain focused to achieve their target of staying in the division as they sit four points above the relegation zone in 19th position.
“It was very important for us to get a small advantage over Rotherham [in the league table] but it isn’t enough, we must win more and get more points to achieve our target,” said the Reading boss Jose.
“We must keep our focus, give all our energy, keep fighting in the same direction like we’ve been doing and hopefully everything will be OK.”
Reading have two games in quick succession as the Championship season nears its conclusion.
Tomorrow, they travel to Bristol City before welcoming West Bromwich Albion to the Madejski Stadium on Easter Monday.
“What we have in our control is the opportunity on Friday to get three points, I don’t know if that will be enough or not, its speculation because we don’t know what will happen in other games so we cannot relax,” continued Gomes.
“We train Saturday and Sunday morning so there is no time to rest. The players can rest when the season is finished, but now is working time.”
Reading secured a shock result at Norwich last midweek with a 96th minute Andy Rinomhota after they conceded two quickfire goals in the last ten minutes having been in front for the majority of the match.
Gomes continued: “The players spirit helps us, they really want to help the club and they fight with all their energy until the last minute. We’ve got the points in the last seconds because of belief. We’ve been learning that anything can happen until the end of the game.”
Yakou Meite has been in scintillating form for the Royals with four goals in four games and Gomes was full of praise for the striker who could be crucial for their Championship survival.
“He’s using the physical capacities he has, he uses his speed, he’s very strong and has the ability to take players out of the game to find room to shoot,” he said.
“He’s not playing to his maximum, he can be even better and sometimes the difference is a mental question, he’s doing very well and he’s showed he has potential to be even better.
“He has the potential to reach the heights of top European leagues.”
Reading have suffered an injury blow however, as John Swift will miss the remainder of the season after having hip surgery.
“I’m really sorry that he’s got this injury because since I’ve arrived he’s played almost all of the games,” said Gomes.
“I like his style of football and we’ve tried to use him more but he couldn’t move properly.
“It was a very simple operation that’s already finished, he will come back very soon but unfortunately not this season.”
