Reading manager Paul Ince has rated their pre-World Cup form as 'seven out of ten' as they sit 12th in the table at the break.
Many pundit's favourites for the drop after being placed under a transfer embargo and losing key stars such as John Swift and Josh Laurent, however the club spent time on top of the table in August and September.
Currently on a break in Tenerife, boss Ince sat down exclusively with the Reading Chronicle to mull over key talking points of the season.
"Going to St George’s Park and having eight or nine trialists, it’s never ideal preparation for a season in the Championship. Looking at that, we always felt it was going to be a tough season for us. To sit where we are now, in amongst the pack, I’ve got to be relatively pleased.
"It’s a strange league this year, it’s so tight, apart from the likes of Burnley who are starting to get away. We’re only two points away from the play-offs. It shows you the importance of getting a good start. It’s put us in good stead. I never envisaged the start we had. People say we had a great start, we didn’t really because we lost to Rotherham 4-0, lost our first game to Blackpool, then we lose to Sheffield United 4-0, it wasn’t the greatest start we could have had. Based on those, everyone thought we would be one of the teams that would struggle this year, and at times we have struggled, but once we settled down as a side, we saw the games come closer and we were always in games, picking up wins and picking up points.
"You can lose or two, as long as you win one. You can’t lose, lose, draw. You have to pick up wins- Blackburn have lost nine games but are still third in the table. We’ve had Blackburn at our place and blitzed them. It shows that there isn’t much between these teams.
"Looking at the team, and the way they have performed, generally I’ve been really pleased. We’ve made some silly mistakes which have cost us points, I look at the Swansea game, the Burnley game where we were robbed, the QPR game we give a silly penalty away- not being greedy, we could easily be on 35 points.
"Overall, it’s been seven out of ten, I’m pleased with it and hopefully we can get better after the break."
Coming back after the break with a home match against Coventry City, the Royals face three more matches before welcoming in 2023.
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