Clarke hoping FA Cup run can boost Reading form next season

Sport360 staff 00:17 20/04/2015
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  • Proud manager: Steve Clarke.

    Reading boss Steve Clarke is confident the club’s FA Cup run can inspire a promotion push next season, although he concedes changes must be made at the Championship club.

    The Royals’ march to Wembley has been the one positive of a disappointing season that sees the club mired in 19th in the Championship, and still three points from mathematical safety.

    Adam Federici’s extra-time mishap against Arsenal ultimately ended his side’s hopes of a first-ever appearance in England’s major cup final, but making the last four clearly caught the imagination of their support.

    Around 30,000 fans made the short trip to north London decked out in blue and white, and Clarke is hopeful that momentum can be channelled into a push towards the Premier League – once their dreadful league campaign has been put to bed.

    “We have to exorcise the place a little bit,” he said. “We have to clean a little bit, reshape the club, change one or two things in the summer and rebuild. Rebuild the club to get back to the level we want to be at.”

    Clarke added: “[Saturday] will have shown the crowd that they want to be part of these occasions more often.

    “They want to be playing against teams and want to be watching teams with the quality of Arsenal more often.

    “They can see their own team can also reach a good level of performance and this is what everybody has to take from this, build on it for the last four games this year, get rid of the horrible Championship season that it’s been and look to start again and do much, much better next season.”

    Reading are no strangers to the Premier League, of course, having played in the top flight as recently as the 2012-13 season. 

    And Clarke is adamant that his squad – despite containing eight players who are out of contract in the summer – has the quality required to get back to where they once were.

    “For me, if you look in the dressing room now you can see the quality and we can add some in the summer,” he said.

    “I’m not going to tell anybody what the budget is but I’m sure there’s a budget to improve the squad. There are other clubs in the Championship who are up there [and] competitive this year who don’t spend millions and millions. 

    “So, with a bit of careful research, a lot of good work on the training pitch – hopefully that’s where I come in – we can build a team that’s competitive at the top end of the Championship, I have no doubt about that whatsoever.”

    Reading return to Championship action against Birmingham on Wednesday night, and Clarke insisted his errant goalkeeper, Federici, would prove himself to be “one of our best players again as usual”.

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