Teams Will Still Raise Their Game At The Madejski

Last year Reading's home record was poor, losing to the relative minnows of Swindon and Chesterfield as well as only drawing with the likes of Northampton, Oldham, Peterborough and Wigan. Indeed, had it not been for the Royals at times heroic away from then they would surely be preparing for another year in Division Two.

Poor home performances were put down to the fact that teams came to the Madejski and raised their game because of the quality facilities that Reading have. However, Alan Pardew told readingfc.co.uk that he expects the same scenario to occur in Division One:

"I still think people will still want to come to Madejski Stadium and play, so we're not going to get away from that one. They'll want to perform on our ground because it such a nice place to play, etc.

"We're not going to get away from the fact that people will want to play here but what we're going to get is that at home we're going to have to be more patient and as I've said before, more tactically astute."

Meanwhile, rumours that Reading star Anthony Rougier was recently involved in a car crash in his homeland of Trinidad & Tobago have been quashed after the Royals received contact from the man himself confirming that he is alright.