McAnuff: Reading FC striker in Battle Royal
Anthony Smith • Published 19 Aug 2011 10:00
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ROYALS skipper Jobi McAnuff has laid down the gauntlet to the club's strikers in the wake of Shane Long's departure.
Long's record move to West Brom has left a gaping hole in Reading's front line.
And McAnuff wants the club's current crop of forwards to prove they can fill the void.
Royals boast Noel Hunt, Mathieu Manset, Simon Church and Hal Robson-Kanu in their ranks - though the club are trying to sign a new striker before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
McAnuff, 29, declared: "The positions up front are pretty much up for grabs. Now Longy has gone I think people must fight every game and perform every game to stay there.
"There are people knocking the door down to get in the side. You had Hal Robson-Kanu coming on at Leicester and scoring, and he did well again when he came on at Portsmouth, plus Simon Church is getting back to fitness.
"It's just something we've got to keep working on and the more we play the better it will be.
"It's still early doors but hopefully we can get a partnership going. Whoever that may be, it will help us."
This Saturday may provide Reading's attack with the perfect opprtunity to sharpen up their striking instincts.
Barnsley have had a poor start to the campaign and have taken one point from the opening three games.
They also appear to have deep problems up front and are yet to score a goal themselves in the league.
McAnuff added: "The good thing about the Championship is that it's a quick turnover. There are a lot of games at the start of the season which is part and parcel of the league.
"We've just got to dust ourselves down after Portsmouth and make sure we are ready. It's probably a good thing that we haven't got too long to dwell on Tuesday night."
And he admitted: "It was a very tough night, we didn't really play well particularly in the first-half.
"We were happy to go in 0-0 at half-time really. We didn't have the spark that we had at Leicester on Saturday. Coming off the back of that win, it made it even more disappointing because we didn't quite play to the level we can."
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