That was the message from director of football Nick Hammond after Royals fought off strong interest in a number of players from several Premier League clubs.

Cardiff City saw a bid of around £2.5 million for top scorer Adam Le Fondre firmly rejected just hours before the transfer window closed last Friday night.

In addition, Swansea City were heavily linked with in-form winger Garath McCleary as well as keeper Alex McCarthy, who had also been watched by Arsenal and Newcastle United.

But despite the uncertainty surrounding the club’s ownership, Royals held on to all of their players.

The news gave Nigel Adkins’ promotion-chasing team a huge lift and they responded by securing their biggest away win of the Championship season on Saturday when they won 3-0 at Millwall thanks to goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak, Alex Pearce and Danny Williams.

Hammond declared: “Friday was a busy day on the phone but we fended off interest in our players.

“In that respect I’m really pleased because it is massively important to keep the squad together for the second half of the season.”

Royals chief executive Nigel Howe confirmed the club had received plenty of offers for their players.

“We had a number of enquiries, but the figures being proposed were not at a level that matched the quality of the players in question,” he stressed.

“So we go into the rest of the year with a very strong squad, and importantly we have players coming back from injury.”

Saturday’s victory at Millwall was Reading’s fourth win in five Championship matches and leaves them sixth in the table.

Adkins’ men return to the Madejski Stadium this Saturday when they host Sheffield Wednesday (3pm ko).

Royals have plundered 12 goals in their last two home games after 7-1 and 5-1 victories over Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool respectively.

And Reading will be gunning for revenge against the Owls following their 5-2 loss at Hillsbrough back in November.

Adkins has kept faith with the same team for the past five matches, though Hope Akpan is a doubt for the Sheffield Wednesday clash after limping off in the first half at Millwall.

The central midfielder’s place could be taken by Danny Guthrie who has recovered from a calf injury.

Adkins declared: “We’ve got a real togetherness about ourselves, consistency and a great team spirit.

“We’ve had the same team for five games running, everyone is working very hard for each other and the confidence is good. This is us and we’re really looking forward to the second half of the season.”

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