Published: Thursday, 8th May, 2008 09:00
Little to miss relegation decider
By Anthony Smith
Comments (0)
Print Article
GLEN Little has been ruled out of Sunday’s relegation decider at Derby County for definite.
Royals boss Steve Coppell had high hopes the classy winger would play some part in the must-win game to boost his team’s chances in front of goal.
But Little, 32, is still struggling to recover from calf strain which he picked up while fighting a 12-month battle with an Achilles injury.
And Coppell admits Little’s absence throughour the season has been a major blow. “We hoped Glen would be right but I might as well say now that I very much doubt he will be involved in any capacity.
“Glen has been unbelievable for us. He was out most creative player for the previous two seasons but we haven’t been able to use him for a full 12 months.
“There is no denying he has been sorely missed but we can’t do anything about it now.”
Little’s expert delivery of crosses from the right of midfield would have gone a long way to helping Reading end their nine hour 11 minute goal drought.
Andre Bikey’s header in a 2-1 win over Birmingham on March 22 was the last time Coppell’s men found the net.
It has been a miserable time for the forwards too and the last time a striker scored was when both Dave Kitson and Shane Long netted in a 2-0 home win over Manchester City on March 8.
On top of that, Kevin Doyle has gone 20 Premier League games without scoring while Leroy Lita is yet to get off the mark at all.
And Coppell admitted: “If we don’t score, we won’t win it’s as simple as that. And this is a game we really need to win.
“I have no idea why we have suffered in front of goal. I’m always looking to enhance our scoring potential, I do that before every single game.
“But I don’t know what’s gone wrong this season but we need to persevere with that we’ve got. There is no point in introducing gimmicks or changing too many things at this stage of the season.
“I need my players to be strong and to keep believing in themselves. If they do that I believe we can come through this.”
Kitson and Liam Rosenior came close to scoring against Spurs in a 1-0 defeat last weekend that dropped Reading into the bottom three.
However, Coppell stated: “Their keeper made some great saves towards the end which was encouraging for us.
“But the truth is we need to play well for longer periods than we did in that game.”
Del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
Further Details
Hahnemann slams team-mate's commitment