Wednesday 16 December 2015 11:14, UK
Nick Blackman is solely focused on getting Reading back into the promotion race as his side prepare to face Hull City as part of Sky Sports' 10 in 10 coverage on Wednesday night.
The striker has been in great goalscoring form so far this season, and scored his own 10 goals in 10 games over a two-month period between August and October.
This included a six-game consecutive run in all competitions and saw the Royals rise into the automatic promotion places but a spate of disappointing results have seen them slip to 12th, although in the ever-tight Championship, they remain just four points from a play-off place.
"It was nice to get my 10 goals in 10 games but I'm not really too focused on that. I'm just trying to help the side get back to winning ways and get back up the table," Blackman told Sky Sports News HQ ahead of Wednesday's trip to the KC Stadium.
"My scoring run is credit to the rest of the team. We were playing really good football and we were creating some good chances, but I couldn't really tell you why we've dropped off.
"Obviously we got to a stage in the season where we were second and everything was going well and then for some sort of reason, things just fell away a little bit, but we've still got the same players and we know what we are capable of here and we are capable of getting back up there."
Reading have won just one of their last nine Championship games - to bottom of the table Bolton - and have also seen the departure of manager Steve Clarke a few weeks ago, with a replacement still to be announced.
"On a personal level, we [Blackman and Clarke] had a good relationship," said the 26-year-old. "He really helped me so I was really disappointed to see him leave and I wish him nothing but success in the future.
"But we have to get on with it and that's football. It's never nice losing a manager but it's down to the players to keep the standards in training high and to perform on the Saturday."
Rumours have been at a high since Clarke's departure about who will take the reins at the Madejski Stadium, with former boss Brian McDermott thought to be the front runner.
"I think there's always a boost when any new manager comes into any club. You see standards go up again and he comes with fresh ideas as well so it's something new to the group.
"Brian signed me actually. I was here for three or four weeks with him so unfortunately I didn't get the chance to work with him for much longer, but he was a great guy. I'd thank him for signing me here and then you never know what can happen.
"None of the players have really talked about Brian coming back to be honest. Obviously it would be nice to have a manager in but it is what it is at the moment, and no one is really speaking about it."
Reading will be hoping to get their season back on track in front of the Sky Sports cameras for their 10 in 10 fixture with Hull, despite remaining managerless.
"It's a big game for us," said Blackman. "They've just come down from the Premier League and we didn't get a good result at the weekend so we're going to try and put that right.
"I don't think Hull have got going yet. They're still up there so that shows great credit to the squad of players and the manager that I think there's still a lot more to come from them.
"Everybody at Reading wants to be in the Premier League so that is the end goal. We have to concentrate on what's here and now and then hopefully we get the rewards at the end of the season."
