Published: Thursday, 6th November, 2008 16:00
Ivar hails defensive partner Bikey
By Anthony Smith
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Class act: Andre Bikey has cemented his place in the heart of Reading's defence.
IVAR Ingimarsson believes he and Andre Bikey make the perfect defensive pairing as the Reading duo go in search of a clean sheet against Derby County this Saturday (3pm ko).
The Icelandic star and the Cameroon ace may hail from very different backgrounds, but on the pitch they have struck up an impressive relationship in the heart of defence.
Bikey is also proving to be a useful weapon in the opposition penalty box and has three goals to his name, all followed by a trademark back-flip.
Ingimarsson, though, admits it helps to have nerves of steel given Bikey’s sometimes unorthodox style.
“He is used to a very different kind of football,” suggested Ingimarsson. “He is calm in certain situations that would leave other players a little bit jumpy.
“I don’t get jumpy, not too often anyway. Maybe it helps I’m a relatively calm person by nature.
“But Andre is obviously comfortable on the ball and sometimes he wants to get it down in places where some might say he shouldn’t.
“I think for him it’s about getting the balance between both and when he gets that right he is unbelievable.
“I don’t shout at him but we talk constantly and try to help each other out. It’s working well at the moment and I hope that will continue and even improve.
“I played with Andre last year and this season we are finally having a run of games.
“He is a brilliant player and he will only get better and better. I think we will see much more from him.”
Steve Coppell’s side have dropped a mere two points from seven home games and they remain unbeaten at the Madejski Stadium this season.
And Ingimarsson says they cannot afford to fritter any more points away against Derby this weekend if they are stay in touch with leaders Wolves who are seven points ahead.
He said: “Derby have been doing okay, they will want to do better but they are a good team. We have to play well. If we don’t and we are not clinical we will drop points.
“We have seen how Wolves, Birmingham and a few other teams are doing so we cannot afford to lose points.”
He added: “We beat Derby at the Madejski Stadium when we won the Championship title but that seems a long time ago now and it doesn’t count for anything.
“We just really need the three points. The teams above us are doing well and there are some other teams really close to us. It’s going to be like that throughout the season.
“However, you have no right to win games even at home. I thought we should have beaten QPR because we were the better team but sometimes it doesn’t happen.
“But if we play well and close to our best we have a much better chance of winning than losing.”
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