Reading boss Paul Ince has confirmed that the players will be training on Christmas Day, despite them not having a fixture on Boxing Day.

A traditional match in the UK, the Royals' match with Swansea City has been chosen for Sky Sports coverage on Tuesday, December 27.

This leaves an 11 day gap between matches, and left many wondering whether players would get Christmas Day off to spent with families.

Ince, an England legend with over 700 career appearances to his name, was very quick to put those discussions to bed.

"No, they ain’t getting no days off on Christmas Day," he emphatically told BBC Radio Berkshire. "They’ll be in training. It’s part of football. I’ve done it for 30 years. They’ll come in. They will obviously have time with their families to do the presents in the morning and then they’ll come in and train. We’ve got a big game at home on 27th against a very good Swansea side."

Reading Chronicle:

Ince's son Thomas, the club's top scorer this season, has been a regular in the top two tiers of the game for over a decade, and was very clear on where his priorities lie.

"They’re big, massive games coming up and we have to be right on it and prepared. As a footballer you’re used to it now, especially when you’re as experienced as I am. It comes with the territory of knowing that Christmas is a working period. You have to enjoy it. It’s a time for families and to enjoy, but at the same time work is always in the mind and Swansea is the target now."

Not an unusual choice, former Royal player and manager Mick Gooding told listeners what they would do in his playing career during the 1980s and 1990s.

Reading Chronicle:

As it turns out, quite similar to modern day.

"Usually, we’d have a game the following day, on Boxing Day, so it would be a light session. The manager would bring you in to give you a light session and remind us not to go too silly with Christmas pudding and all the trimmings. A lot of the time, if we weren’t playing on Christmas Day, we’d be travelling to a hotel for Christmas Day evening so the manager could keep an eye on what we were doing."