READING FC boss Paul Clement believes playing quality opponents during pre-season will stand them in good stead for the Championship campaign.

Royals ended their tour to Austria with a 0-0 draw against Russian top-flight club Rubin Kazan on Friday night.

That followed a 2-2 draw with Turkish top division side Besiktas last Tuesday when Sam Smith and new signing Marc McNulty netted for the Royals, and a 0-0 stalemate against Fulham a few days before that.

Clement’s men have shown a steady improvement throughout their pre-season build up which continues this Saturday with a mouthwatering clash against Premier League Crystal Palace at Madejski Stadium (3pm ko).

And Royals’ boss is confident his player will be ready for their Championship opener at home to Frank Lampard’s Derby County on Friday, August 3 (8pm ko, live Sky Sports).

“It was another good test again against high-level opposition,” he said after the clash against Rubin Kazan. “We’ll play games against teams in the Championship who aren’t as good as that, or as good as Besiktas were the other night. Both games were real good tests.

“The games have built in intensity since we played Eastleigh at the start of pre-season. We’re five games in – we’ve drawn the last three and it’d be nice to win the last one going in to the start of the season.”

Reading lived dangerously in the early stages during which Rubin Kazan twice hit the woodwork and went close a number of times.

But Royals also played some attractive football of their own and could have snatched a late winner when John Swift’s header from Mo Barrow’s cross was expertly saved.

Clement said: “We were close to winning it at the game, but it’s a game we could have lost as well because they hit the post twice in the first half and there was a massive goal-mouth scramble midway through the second half.

“On reflection I think it was a fair result. I thought it was a really competitive game against lots of good players.

"They played a different system to what we’ve played against in recent times – it was like a 3-4-3, the same system Chelsea played under Antonio Conte, it’s difficult to pin down those wingers.”

George Evans was not included in Friday’s squad ahead of a proposed move to Sunderland.

League One Black Cats are believed to have agreed a fee of around £250,000 for the midfielder, who has one year left on his contract.

But his move to the north east appears to have stalled for now following reported interest from an unnamed Championship club.