Royals must go for broke - Leigertwood

Anthony Smith • Published 26 Oct 2012 12:00 0 Comments

MIKELE Leigertwood believes Reading must cast off their shackles and go for broke in Saturday's crunch clash with Fulham.

Royals are in desperate need of a first Premier League win and this weekend's home fixture could give them a prime opportunity.

But before Brian McDermott's men can even think about three points, Leigertwood argues they must alter their approach.

Royals were unfortunate to lose 4-2 at European champions Chelsea back in August and they were robbed of a victory against Newcastle United by the hand of Demba Ba last month.

But they can have few complaints about their other results which have left them languishing in 19th place in the table.

Their most recent setback was a 1-0 defeat at Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool where the visitors left it too late to mount anything resembling a spirited fightback.

However, the general feeling is that McDermott's men have more to give than they have shown so far, and Leigertwood says it is time they stared producing the goods.

"It's nice to be back after the international break but the result on Saturday didn't go the way we wanted it to," said Leigertwood.

"We come to these places and have to give a good account of ourselves. We have to been patient for long enough in the game.

"Now we have to go out in the next game all guns blazing to try to get something.

"There are one or two things that need to be sorted out but, as long as we put the work in, that should show on Saturday."

With Noel Hunt injured, Royals reverted back to a 4-5-1 formation at Anfield last weekend but lone striker Pavel Pogrebnyak often cut an isolated figure.

However, if Hunt passes a fitness test this week, he is almost certain to start against Fulham in a two-pronged attack.

While Martin Jol's Cottagers lie eighth in the table after an impressive start, they have won only once away from home - a

2-1 victory at Wigan.

And Leigertwood believes Royals must cash-in on their home advantage on Saturday.

"Any game is welcome at the moment," admitted the 29-year-old midfielder. "We want to get out of the bottom three as soon as possible and get a win.

"It's still early days but we cant keep saying that.

"We have a home game now and we have to make it count. It will be welcomed and I am sure we will do better and get a result.

"However, it doesn't matter who we play, we need to start getting a run of results.

"For me, it starts on Saturday against Fulham so we will concentrate on that and see what happens."

Reading's early season struggles are nothing new. McDermott's side got off to a terrible start last season and were one place off the foot of the Championship in mid-September.

However, boosted by the arrival of Jason Roberts in January, they shot up the table thanks to an eight-game winning streak and went on to clinch the Championship title with a game to spare.

And it is that winning mentality that Leigertwood and his team-mates are determined to rediscover now.

"It' is proven that we have it in us to go on a run, time and time again," he stressed.

"If we get that first win, we get that belief back then there's no reason why we can't get a run going."

McDermott is likely to revert back to a 4-4-2 formation this Saturday with fit-again striker Noel Hunt set to replace injured midfielder Jem Karacan.

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This article appeared in Bracknell News 26 Oct 12

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