PAUL Clement believes his Reading FC side are ready to face Derby County in their opening Championship fixture next Friday.

Royals welcome the Rams to Madejski Stadium after a 4-0 defeat to Premier League side Crystal Palace yesterday (Saturday).

But boss Clement insisted he has seen a big improvement in his side since he took over with eight games remaining last season.

This is what he had to say after the game.

Pre-season form

"On reflection there will be a lot of talk about there being three draws and three losses.

"But I have enough experience to have a proper perspective on a pre-season.

"It would be great to win every game but I've been involved in teams where we've won every game in pre-season and then lost the first game of the season because of complacency.

"There is certainly not any complacency with us, we've had some very challenging games, particularly the last four games against teams from a higher league than us.

"I said to the players - fans will be looking at results and be worried. But everyone needs to calm down, there was nothing at stake in those games - only the performances and what we've been trying to work on.

"I've seen enough in the last games to suggest we're on the right track.

"Now the serious stuff starts so I am confident we are going to put in a really good performance in the first game."

Derby County test

"I'm really excited about the first game, it's an exciting fixture for many reasons.

"We're opening up the Championship and it's live on Sky so we're looking forward to putting pre-season aside and getting on with what it's really about - competitive games where there are three points at stake."

New recruits and loan signings

"We're physically well prepared and we'll benefit from another couple of recruits which we are working on.

"We are close to announcing another player subject to a medical so hopefully that will happen in the next couple of days.

"The window shuts in about 10 days so anything permanently we'll have to do soon. And then maybe we will tap into that loan window as well which we have got until the end of August.

"Maybe we will see between one and three new faces. One of them is going to be a no.9 - hopefully, that will be announced soon.

"It's not always about money. It's about the level of recruitment and the intelligence you've got on players.

"We brought in players on free transfers - it's not always about what you spend but the quality and how realistic the targets are.

"The players that have come in will help us but we need to do some more."

The treatment room

Paul McShane said he got hit with the ball and his vision went a little bit. That's why he couldn't carry on.

"Unfortunately after missing a lot of pre-season with a cracked rib, Dave Edwards injured his knee in training the other day which is going to keep him out for about four to six weeks.

"Leandro Bacuna is ready to rejoin training on Monday.

"Adrian Popa is ahead of Callum Harriott so it won't be long before he rejoins training.

"John O'Shea will rejoin the group soon."