Reading might have been a revelation in the English Premier League last season but this time around the harsh reality that survival in top flight English football is the only priority is swiftly sinking in. The Royals were beaten by fellow relegation candidates Bolton Wanderers in the Premiership on Saturday and the result has inspired Bolton to 13th in the table while Reading slip to just one from third and more agonizingly just 1 place and 1 point above safety.
The ever pragmatic and intelligent Reading manager Steve Coppell admits to The Independent that relegation to the Championship is a serious threat now. Coppell says:
We can’t beat about the bush. Avoiding relegation is our only target. With 14 games still to go we have a real struggle on our hands. I haven’t had that at Reading but what a great challenge and we have got to rise to it. I have felt for a long time that any three from eight or nine could go down. Now we are significantly one of the three.
Will Reading be able to escape the drop his season? They haven’t really been crap this season; so are they too good to go down?