After a tough week, the Royals were back on the pitch on Saturday against promotion-chasing Cardiff City at the SCL Stadium.
Unfortunately, it was another week of the away side celebrating promotion, with the Bluebirds confirming their return to the Championship with a 3-1 victory.
The defeat leaves us six points from the playoffs in 10th with two games play. Here is what manager Leam Richardson had to say, he spoke to Royals TV.
Richardson on the defeat
“We had big chances at 0-0, at 0-1, at 1-2, and the game could have gone
either way. But it was decided in both boxes. We didn’t take our chances, and we conceded goals that were avoidable.
“It does feel a bit like Groundhog Day. But I thought it was a really good game, certainly for the neutral. The performance level compared to last week was night and day; that wasn’t us at Doncaster. We were very flat there, and we’ve carried that pain into this week.
“With the squad we had available, I thought the players were very professional.
“And we have to congratulate Cardiff. You’ve got to show integrity and humility. What they’ve achieved is something we want to emulate.
“Over the last five months, we’ve improved in all departments. If you look at the period before Huddersfield, our performances, home and away, have been much stronger. But we have to stay aligned as a football club to keep moving forward.”
Richardson on the future
“When you look at the top teams in the division – Bolton, Stockport, Bradford, Lincoln – they all have different styles, but they’ve been building for years.
“I said when I came in, it wouldn’t happen overnight. If we want success, we all have to move forward together, positively, and not allow outside negativity to affect us.
“I knew the enormity of the job, where the club was on and off the pitch. There have been a lot of positives in these five months. Maybe 70%-80% has been good, but there’s still 20%-30% where we need to improve. We’re still learning about each other.”
Richardson on injuries
“There’s a good team in the treatment room at the moment. That’s something we need to address. Your summer dictates your season, so we need a strong pre-season and a robust squad that can meet the demands of this level.
“You miss your top players. We’ve been without too many of them for too long. That’s something we need to fix, through sports science, medical work, and recruitment.
Richardson on Jack Marriott
“You could hear the excitement when he came on. We had to manage him carefully, but he’s a constant threat. He’ll probably be disappointed not to score with that first touch.”
Richardson on the final two games
“I demand professionalism. We have to represent the badge, the fans, and the football club properly. We don’t want any more flat performances – we want to finish the season strongly and keep building in the right direction.”
Richardson on the playoffs
“As long as there’s still a glimmer, we’ll keep believing. We’ve given people hope by putting ourselves in this position, and we’ll keep fighting.”
