READING FC defender Liam Moore says there is no time to dwell on their Aston Villa horror show in their battle to avoid the drop.

Tuesday night’s 3-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Villa after a Dave Edwards first-half red card leaves Royals five points above the Championship relegation zone.

That gap could be cut to two points by the time they face Preston North End at Madejski Stadium tomorrow (3pm ko) should Barnsley win their game in hand at home to Sheffield United in the early kick off.

Paul Clement’s men then face another daunting task next Tuesday night (7.45pm ko) when they travel to Fulham, who are in red-hot form in third place.

Moore declared: “Preston is going to come around quickly, so we have to put the Aston Villa game to the side, pick ourselves up and go again on Saturday.

“We know exactly what went wrong. The red card was the most obvious thing, but there were other things we could have done better.”

Edwards was sent off for the first time in his career for picking up two bookings in 17 first-half minutes at Villa Park.

The former Wales midfielder later apologied for his actions on social media.

Reading Chronicle:

Dave Edwards is sent off in the 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

Royals were forced to play with 10 men for the final hour and conceded three times in the second half when Birkir Bjarnason, Conor Hourihane and Scott Hogan scored to keep Steve Bruce’s side in the promotion hunt.

Moore argued: “We started the game pretty solidly. They were on top, but we defended well.

“The sending off changed everything and, even though we got through to half-time, we knew it was going to be difficult.

“We wanted to get 10 or 15 minutes in the second half to frustrate them, but when they score such a good goal it swings the momentum. With 10 men it’s very difficult.”

It was Paul Clement’s first defeat as Royals boss following victory over QPR in his first match last Friday.

And Moore is confident things are moving in the right direction under the former Swansea City and Derby County manager.

He added: “We dealt with Villa pretty well in the first half. We’re defending our box in a different way and I feel like it’s working. But the spaces are big with 10 men, and it’s very difficult. The pressure told and we came away with nothing.”

Reading Chronicle:

Paul Clement with assistant manager, Nigel Gibbs.

Meanwhile, Royals could be boosted by the return of leading scorer Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and full-back Omar Richards from calf injuries.

Ten-goal Bodvarsson has missed the last three games while Richards has been unavailable for six matches during which Royals have replaced Jaap Stam with Clement.

However, Royals defender Tyler Blackett faces a late fitness test after suffering a knock in the defeat at Villa Park on Tuesday.

Clement will be without the services of a number of players through long-term injuries including Paul McShane, Omar Richards, Callum Harriott and Villa loanee Tommy Elphick.

  • Follow the game live with the Chronicle.