The Royals picked up a fantastic 2-0 victory away from home at relegation-threatened Northampton Town on Saturday.
Two second-half goals through Jack Marriott and Will Keane secured the three points in a great
performance.
The win moves us up to 10th, eight points off the playoffs. Leam Richardson was delighted with his side’s display. Here is what he had to say, he spoke to the Reading Chronicle.
Richardson on the win
“Credit goes to the players. Now and again, you’ve got to do the fundamentals really well, especially away from home. A team like this as well, who are really fighting for everything that they’ve got.
“I thought we stood up to most challenges, and we showed the quality with the goals as well. And particularly the supplies from Lewis Wing for both goals.
“Pleased with a clean sheet from the lads at the top of the pitch. The way we controlled and pressed. Obviously, at the end, we lose a bit of control of the game, but we’re 2-0 up and wanted to manage it.
“I thought, again, a lot of aspects to be pleased about, so we’ve had a good week this week.”
Richardson on Joel Pereira
“Outstanding. I thought there were some outstanding performances today, starting with Joel. We know how good he is. We know how much we love him, and he deserved the clean sheet today.
“Worked hard enough. Worked hard through the week. Didn’t think we got the just rewards from Saturday into Tuesday night’s game, but we got them today.”
Richardson on the impact the new signings have had
“That’s what a proper club looks like. We want competition for places. We want real quality of player. We forget sometimes some of these lads have only been in the building just over a week.
“They’ve got a lot of information to come. They’ve gone from Barnsley to Exeter, away to Northampton, with loads, again, coaching and training on the training ground, trying to get to know different people in changing rooms.
“People want things yesterday or tomorrow, and it doesn’t work like that in football. I’ve been involved in football a long time now. I’ve been coaching 16 years. So we’ve got to be patient, we’ve got to be really methodical in what we do with our decisions going forward and we’ve got to be supported by everybody.”
Richardson on looking ahead
“There’s nothing better than a pre-season. There’s nothing better as a manager, as a coach, to put your fundamentals, to put your stamp on certain individuals.
“I’m really looking forward, if that’s the case, to getting all the gear in pre-season, because you need to know what it looks like to win, and I thought we’re making small steps forward, and that’s all it is.
“It’s a small step forward today, as a team, as an organisation, as individuals, and that’s what we want to keep doing.”
Richardson on Wimbledon next week
“What we do now, the whistle’s gone, everything we do now is towards Wimbledon.
“Another real challenging game away from home, give a level of performance like that, and we should be a real challenge for them as well.”
“We have brought some real good people to the football club, and like I say, we want to improve in all aspects, in all departments.
“For me, the ownership’s done an unbelievable job so far, off the pitch, and now obviously going forward on the pitch, bringing some really good players in for the short, medium and long term, and that’s what we’ll keep striving for.”
