Reading FC's Gibbs buzzing about return to Hornets' nest
Sportsdesk • Published 12 Jan 2012 16:45
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WATFORD Hall of Famer Nigel Gibbs will cast his Hornets loyalties aside this weekend as Reading look to end a run of successive defeats.
Gibbs commands legendary status at Vicarage Road after making 407 league appearances at full-back between 1983-2002.
He spent his entire professional career with Watford after emerging through their youth system and he remains a loyal Hornets fan, listing the club's former chairman and life-long president Elton John amongst his close friends.
But business will come first this Saturday as Reading attempt to bounce back from defeats to Cardiff City and Stevenage at the expense of beloved Hornets.
"Watford is the first result I look for so I'm looking forward to returning there on Saturday," said Reading's first-team coach. "They're on a good run, they've had one defeat in nine and their manager Sean Dyche has done a very good job.
"They are a selling club so he's had to bring some new players in and they're a very hard team to beat. It's always a difficult place to go, the new manager has brought his own players in and we know we're in for a tough game there."
Despite the recent blip, Reading remain in a strong position in the Championship table and no longer have the distraction of any cup competitions to
take their focus away from the main priority of gaining promotion.
Before their two defeats recently they were on an excellent run and remain only eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places.
The month ahead could also be a profitable one for Brian McDermott's men who due to face struggling Bristol City, rock-bottom Coventry City as well as Doncaster Rovers, who are next to bottom, in that time.
But for Gibbs the only concern for now is an emotional return to Vicarage Road and a crucial televised clash.
"We just look at the next game," insisted the cautious 46-year-old. "We did that last season and we had a fantastic run and got ourselves into the play-offs.
"You just never know, at the moment we're in a good position and we're doing our best. We're working as hard as we can to stay there and if that's where we end up that'll be fantastic. It would be a good achievement from the players.
"We've got a good bunch of players, we have trust in them and there are some good players at this football club. We are fifth in the league at the end of the day, hopefully we can sustain that."
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 12 Jan 12
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