TIAGO Ilori admitted he needs to work on his fitness levels after Reading FC boss Paul Clement questioned his squad's stamina.

Clement was left fuming in the wake of Royals' 3-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough last Saturday.

He immediately called the squad's fitness into question and condemned his side's second-half display, branding it as 'unacceptable'.

And defender Ilori, 25, admitted: "It's a long season, there's a lot of games.

"I've been in and out of the team so there have been times when I haven't felt as fit.

"That's something I've got to work on."

Boss Clement criticised Royals' defending at Hillsborough after Royals shipped in two second-half goals.

In one instance, Fernando Forestieri shrugged off a half-hearted challenge before rifling the ball into the top corner from range.

And Ilori confessed Royals have been put through their paces in training this week.

"That's something you work on constantly," he stated.

"You reflect on defending after games.

"We see what we can improve on and it's definitely something we've worked a lot on.

"If you keep a clean sheet you gain a point."

The former Liverpool defender said he ignored Barnsley's defeat at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.

Forest's win means Royals can mathematically guarantee Championship safety with a win against managerless Ipswich Town tomorrow (Saturday, 3pm ko).

But 25-year-old Ilori wants Royals to be accountable for their own fate.

"We need to get the job done ourselves," asserted Ilori.

"We need to win games.

"We can't rely on other teams to lose or to draw.

"Even if we're to win on Saturday we still want to get maximum points at Cardiff to get a good feeling around the club.

"Saturday is the most important game of the season.

"We need to try and get the three points to be safe."

Royals sit rooted near the bottom of the Championship table, a stark contrast to their third-placed finish in Ilori's debut season with the club.

And he admitted there is lots of work to be done over the summer for Reading to escape their rut.

"It's difficult, being in this position, things won't change overnight," he concluded.

"We've got some points in the last few games which has been important.

"We need to learn from this season and improve on it after the holidays.

"Every club has a lot of work to do, that's football.

"There are a lot of new ideas coming in so there's a lot to do over the summer."