Coppell's Christmas wish

Anthony Smith • Published 24 Dec 2008 14:00 0 Comments

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READING boss Steve Coppell has challenged his players to claim back-to-back wins from their Christmas fixtures against Cardiff City and Southampton.

The Saints remain the only visiting side to have beaten the Royals at the Madejski Stadium this season following their shock 2-1 victory last month.

And Coppell's men were given another fright a few days later when Andre Bikey was sent-off in a 2-2 draw at Ninian Park.

The Royals now face both opponents again in the space of three days, starting with a near sell-out Boxing Day clash at home to the Bluebirds, followed by a trip to Southampton this Sunday.

They enter the hectic period in excellent form after a convincing 3-1 victory away to promotion-rivals Birmingham City last weekend, their fifth successive win.

"I see this as a two game package," said the Reading manager. "There are six points up for grabs and it's going to be a defining period.

"We had a great win at Birmingham but it will mean nothing if we don't capitalise on that. We can't allow our performances to dip, as they have in the past. We can't afford to have a bad game."

Cardiff arrive on the back of a six match unbeaten run, including an impressive 2-0 win against Preston and 2-2 draws with Burnley and Reading.

They blew Coppell's men away in the opening quarter at Ninian Park and last season's FA Cup finalists are firmly in the promotion hunt. But they will be without injured top-scorer Ross McCormack, Peter Whittingham and Tony Capaldi.

Saints, despite their surprise win at Reading, remain just outside the relegation zone,

"We come into Christmas in a decent frame of mind but these are a couple of critical games for us," admitted Coppell.

"They are two sides who we haven't beaten this season and the only home game we have lost was to Southampton.

"They have caused us problems and I'm sure that will be in the forefront of my players' minds. But the first thing is to make sure that we put in some decent performances."

Coppell, though, praised fellow scouser Dave Jones for the job he is doing at Cardiff, having also managed Saints in the Premiership.

"Dave is a quality manager," he said. "He gets on quietly with things and he's done a terrific job at Cardiff.

"He has a lot of young Cardiff boys coming through and has some proven senior players, as well as a couple of excellent loan signings in Michael Chopra and Wayne Routledge.

"We know they're a threat from our game at their place and we have to be ready for that."

Coppell is almost certain to tinker with his team over the festive period, with Jimmy Kebe pushing for a recall after serving a three-match ban.

Marek Matejovsky, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Andre Bikey and Shane Long also come into contention, while Noel Hunt is fit despite suffering a head injury at Birmingham.

Coppell explained: "These are two very hard games so I may share the load around and make changes.

"Noel trained on Monday. He didn't do a full session but he did enough to show me that he will be fine."

And the Royals' boss has a Christmas message for the fans: "Traditionally speaking, it's a great time of year to watch football," he said.

"Everyone has done their celebrating and come Boxing Day they are desperate to get out of the house, get some fresh air and watch some football.

"I certainly hope we get a big crowd for Cardiff and that they make some noise because they are very important to us.

"I know we're also taking a lot down to Southampton and they will have a major role to play there. Our away following has been excellent and we genuinely appreciate their efforts."

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 24 Dec 08

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