IT’S been an average week, with a 1-1 draw at Brentford and dull 2-0 home defeat to Swansea in the Carabao Cup.

An interesting rumour ‘popped’ up when foreign media reports claimed Jaap Stam and the board had told winger Adrian Popa that he was free to leave.

The 29-year-old Romanian is competing for a starting place with Modou Barrow, Roy Beerens, Garath McCleary and Sone Aluko. Fans could be forgiven for seeing why Popa could be frustrated.

However, Popa has come out and made it clear that he has no intention of leaving Berkshire and is keen to earn his place in a now congested Reading squad.

Popa started Tuesday night’s tie against Swansea but was substituted in the 75th minute. But he did show pace, drive and determination and I was glad to see him in the squad.

Stam and defender Liam Moore took the positives from the boring defeat, even though many fans suggested Reading could have played through the night and still failed to scored.

It’s clear Royals need to up the tempo and their general performance. We are used to easing into games with gradual passing build-up. However, against strong attacking teams like Swansea and even top Championship sides, we often find ourselves with an early deficit to overturn.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford was a mixed performance from the Royals. We looked a lacklustre outfit before the interval, with Josh Clarke putting Bees ahead before Liam Kelly equalised during a much-improved second half.

The game was quite physical with Brentford manager Dean Smith complaining about the referee’s reluctance to issue Reading players with anything more than a few yellow cards.

Stam was much more statesman-like, focusing on a strong second-half performance and the need for more urgency on the ball.

Attention now turns to the Hull City at home this Saturday. They’ve had a very similar start to the league as us, which should make for an interesting fixture.