Published: Thursday, 17th July, 2008 09:15
Coppell set for shake up
By Anthony Smith
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Chance to shine: James Henry.
STEVE Coppell will shake players out of their comfort zone by threatening them with the chop.
The tough-talking Royals boss does not want any of his first-team regulars thinking their place in the side is safe.
Coppell will cast a critical eye over his squad again this Saturday when Reading crank up their pre-season campaign with a trip to MK Dons.
And he warned: “You can’t have a completely clean slate in football. You always carry memories about what a player’s value is to the team.
“But there is definitely an opportunity for others to make a mark and show me what they can do. If I notice someone is taking things a bit easy, there will be consequences.
“At this moment I’ve got competition in almost every position. It registers when one player is slacking off and another is busting a gut to get in.
“If I was only looking out for those who have played over the last couple of years it wound be wrong. Everybody has an opportunity.”
This Saturday’s friendly follows on the back of last weekend’s opener at Didcot Town plus midweek trips to Forest Green Rovers and Havant and Waterlooville.
And Coppell added: “We played two different sides at Didcot and it is always hard to get into a rhythm when you are changing the team at half-time.
“The first few friendlies are all about developing fitness and strength but MK Dons is probably the first game of pre-season where players are going to be judged on their performances.
“From here on they will all get more pitch time and I will be looking for a lot more from them. I want them to show me what they are still capable of and that they are hungry for this.
“Every player must be aware of that. It will be so important from here on.”
Coppell, though, admits he has already been impressed with the input of several players who were rarely seen during last season in the Premier League like Leroy Lita, Alan Bennett and Bobby Convey.
And youngsters such as Turkish youth midfielder Jem Karacan, Icelandic teenager Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wales U21 striker, Simon Church have also caught Coppell’s eye.
He revealed: “I’m talking about Jem Karacan, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jimmy Kebe and Alan Bennett. Bobby Convey has been out for a long time through injury then there’s Simon Church and Leroy Lita.
“None of those were really involved last season but everyone has a chance to impress from here on.
“Even if some players have different agendas for trying to impress me, that’s okay.”
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