The Royals suffered a demoralising defeat against Southampton on Saturday, and the English trainer has admitted that his side staged a poor show in the second-half.
Reading manager, Brian McDermott, has expressed utter disappointment over his side’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium on Saturday, December 8.
The 51-year-old tactician has insisted that the opening goal was always going to decide the balance of the game, while admitting that they were unlucky to find the post in the opening half.
After a goalless opening half that saw goalscoring opportunities few and far between, the Saints resumed proceedings brightly in the second-half, and managed to break the deadlock in the 61st minute through Jason Puncheon.
The hosts continued to mount pressure on the Royals’ defence after taking the lead, but they failed to extend their lead further, and the game ended in a 1-0 win in favour of the Saints.
“We are disappointed. We had an opportunity [to win] in the first half and hit the post. That first goal was always going to be really, really important. They got it. In the second half I didn't really feel we stepped on the way we needed to get three points, never mind one”, McDermott said while talking to journalists in the post-match press conference.
The English mentor went on to admit that his troops staged a far from pleasing show in the second-half, and suffered the defeat.
“At the moment, you would imagine there would be a lot of doom and gloom around the place after a loss like that. I understand that completely because the second half we did not really do ourselves justice, especially with the ball”, McDermott added.
Reading are currently occupying the 19th spot on the Premier League table, six points adrift of the safety zone, with a game in hand.
They could reduce the deficit to only three points if they manage to bag all three points in their upcoming league fixture against Sunderland at Madejski Stadium on December 11.
And the 51-year-old trainer has insisted that his troops must put behind their below par performances, and look for a victory at home against the struggling Sunderland on Tuesday.
“We know we have to be better than that and we now have another game on Tuesday to pick ourselves up”, McDermott concluded.
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