Madejski lauds Royals renaissance
Anthony Smith • Published 5 May 2011 09:30
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READING chairman Sir John Madejski is describing the club's late charge for the Premier League as a 'renaissance'.
Royals booked their place in the Championship play-offs with a point at Coventry City on Saturday.
The chances of that happening looked extremely bleak in February when Brian McDermott's men were languishing in mid-table.
But a sensational run has cemented their place in the top-six, regardless of the result this Saturday when they host Derby County in the last game of the regular season (12.45pm ko).
Now Reading will attempt to pull off the unthinkable by sealing their return to the top-flight after a three-year absence.
Speaking exclusively to the Chronicle, Madejski said: "It's a remarkable achievement bearing in mind where we were a few months ago.
"We've had a tremendous run and our fans have seen this great, big renaissance happening before them which has taken their breath away.
"The supporters have been terrific and now we will go for the final push. We want everyone in the Thames Valley to get right behind us and pull out all the stops so that hopefully we will be in the Premier League this time next year."
Reading were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2006 under Steve Coppell when they went up as champions with a record haul of 106 points which many critics believe may never be beaten.
This time they needed a late surge to sneak into the play-offs, and Madejski is confident they can go the distance.
"We've beaten Liverpool, Everton and other Premier League clubs in the FA Cup recently so we can beat anyone in a one-off game," he argued.
"It's interesting that we've been promoted to the Premeir League as champions so wouldn't it be nice to do the double and get there through the play-offs because we have never done that before.
"Last time we got automatic promotion long before the end of the season with more points than anyone has ever gained in the past. Now we have the chance to get there again and, I'm sure with everyone's positive help, we can pull it off."
Reading have never been promoted via the play-offs, an unwanted record shared with several clubs including Swansea City who they could meet in the shoot-out.
Recent disappointments in the end-of-season lottery include semi-final defeats to Burnley and Wolves plus an agonising extra-time loss to Walsall at the Millennium Stadium exactly 10 years ago when McDermott had recently joined the club as part of Alan Pardew's backroom staff.
But that, according to Madejski, is water under the bridge: "That's in the past and this is a new opportunity for us, this time it would be different. It would be the cream on top of the cream, it would be really wonderful."
And he insisted: "It makes such a huge difference to the local area when we're in the Premier League. It's the biggest league in the world and watched by billions.
"It really puts Reading and the Thames Valley on the map, you just can't beat it. It's one of the best exports this country has.
"We really enjoyed out last period in the Premier League. It was so good for the area. It put Reading on the map more than anything else has ever done."
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 05 May 11
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