After losing to Blackburn over the weekend, Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has said improvement is needed ahead of their clash with Reading tomorrow.
The Blades were away at Ewood Park and, despite having more shots and possession, fell to a 1-0 defeat. Coming after their FA Cup success against Tottenham last Wednesday, Heckingbottom admitted the result was disappointing.
He said: “I don’t want anything about us to be average, I don’t want us to go into a game and hope to win, I want us to impose ourselves and be the team that we want to be.
“We’ve got good players, and I don’t think anyone would be happy with our performance on Saturday.”
Defeat to Blackburn means Sheffield United have lost three of their last five games, leaving them only four points ahead of an in-form Middlesbrough.
Heckingbottom said: “I’m more bothered about what we produce and how we perform.
“That gap is going to chop and change all the time, you’re not going to mirror each other’s results. But with a game in hand, we’re in total control to make that gap bigger or not.”
That game in hand will be against Reading, who lost 5-0 to Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Despite that, Paul Ince’s Reading side will be taking confidence from their strong home form. In the Championship this season, only three teams have a better points-per-home game ratio than Reading.
Royals defender Tom Holmes said: “It’s clear there’s a difference between our home form and our away form – that’s pretty obvious now.
“But being at home does give us a lift. If we get good numbers into the stadium and put in a good performance, we give ourselves a chance.”
But while the team is confident, for the fans who will be filling out Madejski Stadium on Tuesday, it is a nervous time with a possible points deduction looming that could land the club in a relegation battle.
Reading supporter and host of the Elm Park Royals podcast Nick Houlton said: “There’s frustration, sadness and just a sense of being fed up.
“After Blackpool it looked like survival was secure but this drops us back into it.”
Reading v Sheffield United can be watched live on iFollow, with highlights to be posted on both club’s YouTube channels.
