McDermott salutes Royals

But Reading boss keen to play down expectations

By Chris Galea   Last updated: 6th May 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

McDermott salutes Royals

McDermott: Royals praise

Related links

Teams

Also see

Reading manager Brian McDermott has heaped praise on his squad after they steered the club away from the relegation zone and towards the play-off frame.

The Royals were struggling at the wrong end of the table when McDermott replaced Brendan Rodgers at the helm in mid-December, but he managed to lead the former Premier League outfit to a respectable ninth-placed finish.

The Berkshire club finished just seven points off the top seven and the former Woking boss told skysports.com that the campaign ended too soon for the Royals.

"It is a shame that the season has finished really because the boys are really enjoying it," he admitted.

"If we had an extra four or five games then we would have a great chance of getting into the play-offs, but unfortunately that isn't the case.

"We've done great and I can't ask any more from the lads. Over the last 20 games we've won a good slice of them, whilst not losing too many, so I can't fault them."

Marathon

But McDermott insists talk of gaining promotion next season is premature and that supporters shouldn't expect too much too soon.

"It is difficult to tell because a lot can happen in a season," he added.

"We will see how our squad looks when the season gets under way and take it from there really.

"It is a long, hard season with the 46-game marathon starting in August, so we will do exactly what we have done this season and take it game by game and hopefully it will work for us."