Five goals in six games, a man-of-the-match performance to fire Reading to Wembley and a new addition to the Mackie clan.

It’s been quite a month for the Nottingham Forest loanee and a win at Charlton before an international break at home with the family would be the perfect way to seal it.

Some eyebrows were raised when the in-form 29-year-old was left out of Scotland’s squad for the international break, but his country’s loss is Reading’s gain as the versatile forward will be granted a much-needed rest after a tough period.

Steve Clarke gave his players two days off after the historic win over Bradford but it’ll be straight back down to business in training on Thursday.

Mackie is now focused on grabbing three points before the international break and says the Royals can’t let an FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal distract them from the remaining league fixtures.

“We’ve got to go and be professional,” he said. “We need to do well in the league as we’ve been poor so far. We need to make sure we get results and climb the table.

“The league is our bread and butter. The FA Cup is a great distraction and a great achievement for the boys, but we need to give them more in the league as we’ve been disappointing this season.

“It’s been tough for the fans so we need to make up for that and it starts on Saturday against Charlton. That’s the manager’s message to us.”

Perhaps the one person that won’t need bringing back down to earth is Mackie, a bundle of energy that wears his heart on his sleeve in every game.

The Reading fans regularly sing about Mackie having a party but it seems a quiet night in is more up the forward’s street these days.

His partner Sarah gave birth to baby number three last Friday - a girl named Rose - and Mackie admits it’s been a testing month with little sleep, but one that he’s loved.

“There’s not a lot of sleep going on in our house at the moment but it’s amazing and I’m delighted,” he beamed. “Rose is our second girl and we’ve got a little boy as well.

“It’s been a crazy month. Everyone is so suppportive at home about how passionate I am about my job but I’m also a family man so it’s about finding that balance.

“My wife is very understanding. We’re very fortunate with the job that I’ve got and the lifestyle we’ve got through my job and we’ll never forget that.

“But I was there for the birth and it was another amazing experience.”

It’ll be a tough test for Clarke’s side as Charlton have won six of their last eight in the league.

Reading are likely to be without Nathaniel Chalobah after he left the Madejski Stadium on Monday evening with a protective boot on his right foot following a heavy challenge late on.

There are no other fresh injury concerns for Clarke as Reading look to re-establish their 13 points buffer zone over the bottom three.