Published: Friday, 1st January, 2010 12:00pm

McDermott admits pride is at stake in Liverpool clash

by Anthony Smith

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BRIAN McDermott has told his Reading players to restore some pride when they take on Liverpool in Saturday's mouthwatering FA Cup clash at the Madejski Stadium (5.15pm ko, live ITV).

A near sell-out crowd is anticipated for the juicy third round tie against Rafa Benitez's Premier League giants.

And while Royals start as massive underdogs, McDermott says his team must show a dramatic improvement on their woeful display at Plymouth Argyle on Bank Holiday Monday.

Royals' confidence took a battering in the shock 4-1 league defeat by the struggling Pilgrims and a repeat performance this weekend would surely bring a landslide victory for the Reds.

However, caretaker boss McDermott is doing everything in his power to prevent that happening in his bid to land the role on a full-time basis.

"A result like Plymouth wasn't good news," admitted the 48-year-old caretaker boss. "It hurts but we have to live with it and look to the next game.

"I wouldn't say Liverpool is a nice distraction. It's just our next fixture and it's one the whole town is relishing. It should be a full-house and we are desperate to put on a performance for everyone.

"We've just got to make sure we perform. We desperately need to on the back of Plymouth, we need to restore some pride.

"The crowd want to see us really have a go at Liverpool and try and do the right things, no matter which players are in their team.

"Our fans haven't seen enough of that for far too long now. We need to change that between now and the end of the season by winning our battles on the field, especially at home."

Even though the likes of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are likely to be on the Liverpool bench, few critics fancy Royals to cause an upset given their present struggles.

However, McDermott is maintaining a positive attitude. "You can't go into games thinking you have nothing to lose, because you always have something to lose," he argued.

"I saw Liverpool beat Aston Villa on Tuesday so we are the major underdogs. I wouldn't like to second guess what team Rafa will pick.

"But they have so many top players it's going to be hard for us. In some respects I hope Torres and Gerrard play because our lads want to test themselves against the best in the world."

McDermott has received the backing of chairman Sir John Madejski for the time being at least.

But several higher-profile names have been linked with the vacant hotseat including Glenn Hoddle, Darren Ferguson, Alan Curbishley and former boss Steve Coppell.

McDermott added: "The chairman rang me on Wednesday to see how I was and ask if there was anything he could do to help.

"It was nice of him and I've also been speaking with Nick Hammond to see if we can find a way forward.

"Plymouth was a poor result and there has been a lot of disappointment around the place.

"We had a lot of fans there and I felt for them. We can only apologise and do our best to make it up to them. We need results quickly in the short and medium term."

McDermott will tinker with his team on Saturday with Matt Mills, Jay Tabb, Jimmy Kebe, Hal Robson-Kanu and Grzegorz Rasiak pushing for starts.

But last season's Player of the Year Chris Armstrong received another injury setback in training this week and will not be available.

"I already know my team but the main thing for me is not who plays but the team performance," added McDermott.