STEVE Clarke insists he will never temper his attacking instincts after his side were held to a 1-1 draw at struggling Rotherham United.

The Royals led through a Nick Blackman stunner on Tuesday night but were pegged back by a Danny Collins equaliser in the second half.

Yet Clarke refused to settle for a point and told his players to keep pushing for a winning goal, which never came despite a late chance for fit-again Matej Vydra.

Many fans saw the result as two points dropped against a Millers side languishing second bottom of the Championship table before kick-off.

The draw meant Royals dropped one place to third and they are now six points behind leaders Brighton.

However, Clarke, whose side have accumulated 19 points from the last 24 on offer, declared: “We had reasonable control of the game in the first half.

"At 1-0 up at half-time, we spoke about consolidating and trying to push and get the second goal that would maybe have given us the three points.

“But credit to Rotherham, they came out and started quick. It was sloppy play from us to concede a goal from a corner kick. At 1-1 it was an open game with big chances to get the second goal.

“It was probably a really good second half for the neutral, it was end-to-end stuff. I risked a bit, because there was a spell when I thought it was too open. We could have closed it up and shut up shop, but I was prepared to risk the point to try and get the three.

“When you go away from home in the Championship, every point is hard-earned so we’ll add it to the tally and look forward to the next game.”

Even centre back Michael Hector admitted there was a harum-scarum element to Reading’s play at the New York Stadium.

The 23-year-old defender, who has been loaned back to Reading after a £4 million move to Chelsea, stated: “Rotherham were very flat first half, but second half it was end-to-end, like FIFA.

“It was pretty scrappy and it played into their hands. The important thing is we keep the unbeaten run going and that’s a positive we can take from the night.”

Reading travel to Fulham this Saturday (1.30pm kick-off), and Hector added: “We’ll get into preparation for Fulham as quickly as possible. It’s an earlier kick-off so we need to make sure we get the recovery right and try and keep this run going.”

However, Royals received a double injury blow this week with midfielder Stephen Quinn set to be sidelined until January after recent knee surgery, while Hal Robson-Kanu, linked with a January move to Cardiff City, will be out for around eight weeks with an ankle problem.