WE comfortably beat Burton Albion in our designated Remembrance Day fixture for our fourth win in a row to go third in the table.

Dominic Samuel started in place of the injured Yann Kermogant and scored his first league goal. And, despite being the clear favourites, Royals coasted home with 60% of possession.

Royals’ manager Jaap Stam was moderately positive in his post-match interview, but the Dutchman stressed the club must remain down-to-earth and realistic. This is a continued position of the former Manchester United defender and an honourable one to hold.

I agree with Stam and the club’s technical director Brian Tevreden. Both have publicly stated the urgent need for one or two quality strikers in the fast-approaching January transfer window.

Yann Kermogant’s finishing is admirable, his pace not so. Dominic Samuel is a promising frontman but not someone we can rely on yet.

We need an established striker who can perform not just this season but for at least the next two.

An investment in a temporary striker is not worth the potential outlay. In the meantime, the team must continue to work hard and success will keep on coming.

We welcome Bristol City to the Madejski Stadium on Saturday. City are currently in 10th place with seven points less than Reading.

Lee Johnson’s team have won just one of their last six league games, conceding eight goals and scoring just four.

Their last league win came over a month ago against Blackburn and their last away win was back in September at Fulham.

Stam will surely be looking to make it five wins in a row, without getting too carried away of course.

Saturday also gave us not only our fourth successive win but our fourth consecutive clean sheet.

This is testament to the solidity of Liam Moore and Paul McShane plus a top-class goalkeeper in Ali Al-Habsi.

Could we face a fight to keep these as well as John Swift in January? Only time will tell.