JOEY van den Berg believes the month of April could make fools or heroes out of the Reading FC team.

Fifth-placed Royals edged closer to securing a play-off spot thanks to last week’s stunning 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in sixth.

It leaves Jaap Stam’s men with a healthy six-point lead over Fulham in seventh with eight matches to go when they return from the current international break.

And while it would take a massive dip in form for Reading to drop out of the play-off positions, van den Berg is taking nothing for granted.

The 31-year-old Dutchman warned: “We’ll recharge the batteries during the break because April will be tough with seven games.

“We’ll have a few days off and I will go to Holland to see family and friends then come back with a clear mind.

“It’s going to be hectic but in a way I like it. The more games the better for me.

“But April will be a very important month. We could be still be up there or pushing even higher, or we could drop down the table.

“We have to keep our focus and keep pushing forward.”

Royals face another vital six-pointer when they return to Championship action on April 1 with a home clash against fourth-placed Leeds United.

But after that five of their final seven fixtures are against clubs in the bottom five in Blackburn (h), Rotherham (h), Nottingham Forest (a), Wigan (h) and Burton (a).

However, van den Berg stressed: “We won’t have an easy game from here.

“I have played in relegation battles myself and playing against teams like that can be very difficult.

“It can also be tough against mid-table sides because they have no pressure and nothing to fear, they can play like Barcelona.

“But when I came to Reading at the beginning of the season I didn’t know what to expect.

“We’re up there in the table and we want to stay in the play-offs.

“We've worked all season to get into the top six and our main goal has to be to remain there.

“We need everybody on the same side to achieve this. We need to tell each other what's what and to expect the unexpected on the pitch.”

He added: “When you have a disappointing result early in the season it’s not so bad because you have loads of games, but there aren’t loads of games left now.

“Saying that, I’m confident we can do this.

“It’s the end of the season and only the strongest remain.

“There have been injuries and suspension but it’s up to the rest of the squad to react.

“Luckily I think we have the quality to cope with these things. We score goals and create chances so there is no reason to doubt ourselves.”

A host of Reading players are currently on international duty including Chris Gunter whose Wales face a vital World Cup qualifier against Republic of Ireland in Dublin tonight (7.45pm ko).