 Friday, 6th Nov 2009 13:48 Town manager Roy Keane looks set to start with strike pair Pablo Couñago and Tamás Priskin after the duo impressed when coming off the bench against Derby last week. Skipper Jon Walters is likely to switch to a midfield role. Keane appears unlikely to make too many other changes to his side after they picked up their first victory of the season against Derby a week ago and with no new injury problems reported. The Blues boss was pleased with Damien Delaney’s performance against Derby, his first for the Blues at centre-half, and with his defenders in general but says he could still make a switch of personnel when he picks his team for Saturday: “Damien did well. It was pleasing that we kept a clean sheet. “But you have to remember the way Derby played with one up front. The strikers tomorrow will give us a different type of challenge, a different sort of movement. No disrespect but Paul Dickov is 37 and he’s not really going threaten in behind. “I’ve got to try and pick the right players and just because we kept a clean sheet doesn’t mean I’m going to stick with the same four.” The Blues boss says central defender Gareth McAuley, who has been out with a thigh injury, will be assessed today and could make it, but if he isn’t involved at Reading he will be withdrawn from the Northern Ireland squad facing Serbia next weekend. Central defender Tommy Smith is out until after the international break with a hand injury sustained in training late last week. Youngster Troy Brown could again be amongst the subs with Jack Ainsley joining Rushden and Diamonds on loan this morning. Keeper Asmir Begovic will continue between the sticks with Liam Rosenior, facing the side from whom he is on loan, will be at right-back with David Wright on the left. Delaney and Alex Bruce are likely to play in the centre unless McAuley makes a recovery and comes into the reckoning, probably in place of Delaney. In midfield, skipper Walters will probably switch to the left-sided role with Carlos Edwards on the right and Grant Leadbitter in the centre. Liam Trotter could continue alongside the former England U21 international, although Jack Colback was used there in the recent Plymouth game and Alan Quinn did well when switched to the central role against Derby late on. With Couñago and Priskin set to start, Jon Stead will drop to the bench alongside Connor Wickham, back from a week away with England’s U17s and having netted a hat-trick in their game against Azerbaijan, one of three victories in which he featured. Keane says last week’s first victory of the season hasn’t really changed the atmosphere at the club: “There’s been no major difference this week, I have to say. It was one victory, the players enjoyed it, I think we deserved it and now we need a few more. “I’ve not noticed a major difference because the players have been coming into training with a good spirit anyway, so I’ve not noticed a difference in terms of body language on the training ground, so that’s credit to the players. But listen, it’s one victory, everyone needs to relax a little bit. “Our results over the last six, seven or eight weeks haven’t been too bad, we’ve just been getting far too many draws. We need victories and victories are vital in the Championship because it’s so tight. “Our performance against Derby wasn’t particularly good, we can play a lot better, we have previously but we’ve not got the win, but we did that last weekend. “We go to Reading and we want to build on that and keep the level of performance that we’ve had over the last five or six weeks. It’s victories we need. We need to go on a run now.” Reading boss Brendan Rodgers is out to end his side’s miserable run of home form with the Royals currently fourth bottom and without a win at the Madejski Stadium since January. Rodgers has called on fans to back his side as they seek to turn their season around: "The message to send out is that supporters should get right behind us. They've been brilliant this season even though things haven't always been great and I accept some of their criticism. "But if we're to end this hoodoo at home they've got to be on our side. In fairness, they were superb last Monday against Leicester. Not many teams come off losing yet still get a standing ovation. "I think that showed they appreciate what we're trying to do and the hurdles we have encountered along the way. We're getting there and their support could give us that little extra push we need when we play Ipswich. "Even at Premier League level we've heard Sir Alex Ferguson say how the atmosphere at Anfield the other week had an impact on his players. "We're trying to make the Madejski a cauldron and we need our supporters to do that. They can give us the edge we need to start winning home games again." Despite the poor home form, Rodgers feels his side have done OK on their travels: "We've done the hard thing really well, which is winning away from home. "To win three times away in this league is some achievement but we've done it and we're right up there with the leading teams in terms of away performances and results. "But it's so very important to sort out this home form. If we can do that I believe we have a chance of making great progress." Rodgers knows Town manager Roy Keane well, the pair having met while studying for their coaching badges: "We've been in contact a lot over the last couple of years. "We struck up a relationship when we did our UEFA Pro Licence together and that has carried on. I suppose both being Irishmen has something to do with it and I admire Roy greatly, he's a really nice person. "What a lot of people don't see with Roy is the tremendous hard work he puts into the job. He was one of the top players of a generation but he has also worked incredibly hard to become a manager and he has done it without any fuss at all. He has a great thirst and hunger for the game." Rodgers has a fair few injuries at present. Full-back Chris Armstrong and striker Noel Hunt are both recovering from knee surgery, while midfielder Oliver Bozanic and defender Matt Mills also have knee problems. Winger Jimmy Kebe has been out with a groin injury but isn’t far from a return, but defender Julian Kelly is out until January after undergoing shoulder surgery. Midfielder Hal Robson-Kanu has a hamstring injury and striker Radoslav Vasilev a groin problem. Town have had the edge over the Royals over the years, winning 21 times (20 in the league), drawing eight (eight) and losing 14 (14). Last season the Blues did the double over the Berkshire club, Jon Stead and Jon Walters netting the goals in a 2-0 win at Portman Road and Stead overhead kicking in the winner in a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium, Town’s first ever win at Reading’s current ground. Liam Rosenior is currently on loan from Reading to Town, while Connor Wickham was a schoolboy with the Royals academy before his father, a serviceman, was posted to Colchester and he joined the Blues’ youth set-up. On-loan striker Kevin Lisbie also spent a brief loan spell with Reading when a Charlton player in 1999. No current member of Brendan Rodgers’s squad has previously played for Town. The game is live on TV in various places abroad and is the main match on the Football League Show on BBC1 in the early hours of Sunday morning (00.05). Saturday’s referee is Dean Whitestone from Northampton, who has shown 30 yellow cards and one red in 10 games so far this season. Whitestone’s last Town game was the 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United last November when he booked David Norris and Alan Quinn. He also awarded both sides a penalty, the Blades’ coming in the last minute for Quinn’s handball in the box. Squad from: Begovic, R Wright, Rosenior, D Wright, Delaney, Bruce, McAuley, Balkestein, Brown, Leadbitter, Trotter, Quinn, Colback, Walters, Edwards, Martin, Peters, Healy, Couñago, Priskin, Stead, Wickham.
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