READING FC midfielder Liam Kelly hit back at bookmakers’ predictions, insisting Royals are too good to go down to League One.

Paul Clement’s side found themselves on the verge of relegation after a lacklustre season saw them finish 20th in the table back in May.

Thankfully for Royals, results elsewhere cemented their status in the second-tier on the final day of the campaign.

Bookmakers have Reading as one of the favourites to face the drop in the upcoming season, but academy graduate Kelly warned Royals’ Championship rivals his teammates are prepared for a far better season this time around.

“As a squad we know how bad we were last year,” he admitted.

“It’s never nice when it doesn’t go as planned.

“We’ve learned from it and now we can forget about it. Everyone can start fresh this season.

“For me I was never really worried about relegation. It came close but it was never in my mind that we were going to down.

“I had confidence in us that we were going to stay up and this is a team that should never be in League One. The confidence was always there.

“We have a fresh start now, we have had a new pre-season with a new manager. It should be a very good season.”

Clement’s Royals kick off the Championship season with a home fixture against the 46-year-old’s former employers, Derby County (8pm ko, live on Sky).

The Rams will be buoyed on by their new manager, Frank Lampard, who will make his first appearance as a manager at Madejski Stadium.

And Kelly stressed the importance of Reading getting off to a good start this season.

He continued: “Derby are a good team. They are going to have that extra buzz with Lampard coming in. It’s live on Sky too but we’re focusing on ourselves.

“It’s one of the most important things to start well. Not just the first game but you need to get good results from the first seven or eight.

“We need to show the league what we are about and if you’re up there after eight games then teams will be looking at you and confidence will keep flowing."

Kelly could come up against former Royals George Evans tomorrow night after the 23-year-old moved to Pride Park earlier in the week.

And the 21-year-old revealed he was sorry to see Manchester-born Evans head to the midlands.

“I was sad to see George Evans go,” groaned Kelly.

“ He is one of the good guys in life. 

“He’s been very good for us and I’ve enjoyed playing with him but I don’t think he could turn down a move like that.

“It’s down to him. He’s obviously spoken to the manager and not played as much as he wanted.

“For him to go to Derby and play lots of games will be good for him.”

Evans, who had just a year remaining on his contract at Madejski Stadium, was told his game time would be limited this season due to the competition in midfield.

That includes David Meyler, who could make his first-team debut on Friday after joining on a free transfer from Hull City in the summer.

And Kelly welcomed the Irishman’s Championship experience, adding: “I’ve spoken to him a lot and he’s helped me. I hope we can have a good partnership.

“We are all going to fight for each other. The competition is good, it helps us push on knowing that you have to perform every game.

“There is top another player waiting to take your place if you don’t.”

Clement can also hand debuts to strikers Marc McNulty and Sam Baldock who joined from Coventry City and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively.

Royals were heavily dependent on Jon Dadi Bodvarsson to be the main centre forward last season as Yann Kermorgant struggled to recover from a serious injury.

And Kelly beamed: “Fresh faces always help. There was a lot on Jon Dadi last year. Competition will really help him and it will really help us.

“I scored a few last year so if I can add more goals to my game then that would be nice.”