Coppell bemoans mistakes

Reading boss unhappy; Parkes relieved

Last updated: 13th April 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Coppell bemoans mistakes

Coppell: Disappointment

Related links

Teams

Also see

Reading boss Steve Coppell was left annoyed at his side's mistakes after they threw away a two-goal lead at Blackpool.

The Royals were 2-0 up at Bloomfeld Road within the opening 25 minutes then to goals from Noel Hunt and Jem Karacan.

But Keith Southern and DJ Campbell levelled for lowly Blackpool to seemingly end Reading's hopes of automatic promotion.

"We need to be mentally strong. We are making too many mistakes and today's draw in reality feels a lot like a defeat when you consider we were looking comfortable at 2-0 up," said Coppell.

"For two thirds of this season we have looked one of the strongest sides in the Championship and with four games to go we must get strong again."

The point means the Seasiders are now five points above the drop zone with just three games to play, but manager Tony Parkes believes there is still work to do to avoid survival.

"We are enjoying a good little run and have only lost one in seven games but two teams below us won today and that keeps on the pressure," he said.

"We were slow out of the blocks today and Reading are a strong side who have aspirations for the Premiership and hit us with two early goals.

"It took some character to come back and we scored just at the right time before the break. That was a vital goal and lifted us for the second half."

Click Here for Your Free Bet