“Manager’s worst nightmare” – Paul Ince details key Reading FC area for improvement following win v Swansea City | OneFootball

Reading manager Paul Ince believes his side needs to be braver and push higher up the pitch rather than sit deep when in the lead, speaking to the Reading Chronicle after their 2-1 victory over Swansea City.

Andy Carroll’s strike in the 27th minute put the hosts in the driving seat to win all three points at the Select Car Leasing Stadium and although they missed a penalty five minutes later, a goal from Tom Ince during the early stages of the second 45 gave the Royals a small cushion.

Unfortunately for them, they had around 40 minutes left to play following Ince’s goal and they sat back for a decent chunk of the latter stages of the game, with Swansea halving the deficit in the 71st minute when Liam Cullen had the chance to tap the ball into an empty net.

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Harry Darling had a golden opportunity late on to make it 2-2 – but he could only head the ball straight at Joe Lumley and that allowed the Berkshire outfit to claim three points despite having far less possession and fewer chances than the visitors.

The Royals defended their box extremely well at times last night and they have done that many times when under the cosh this season.

But Ince remains keen for his side to push higher up the pitch and be braver to potentially minimise the risks of dropping points.

He said: “The way they play football it’s a manager’s worst nightmare. You try to get them up the park and they just don’t move.

“Eventually it’s just fingers crossed and hope you get the result. We have to be braver and get higher.”

The Verdict:

This is a difficult one to weigh up because somehow, the Royals have managed to win three points after sitting back and they should be commended for their ability to grind out these victories.

Sitting deep has also helped to minimise holes in the Berkshire outfit’s defence at times and that’s been important following some poor defensive displays last season, holding the joint-worst ‘goals conceded’ record in the division along with Peterborough United last term.

Their defence nearly cost them a place in the division, so the fact their backline are now winning them points is a promising sign for the future, even if some of the performances from the whole team haven’t been that convincing.

Becoming more convincing probably should be their next step, although they will certainly take their current position of eighth at the moment considering they were tipped to go down by many pundits at the end of this campaign.

And as long as they can keep getting points on the board, it doesn’t matter how they come. Performances don’t matter at this point, only points.