by premiership_bound »
19 Apr 2007 17:21
SC does not seem to pleased with Radio Berks
'Fed up with flack,' says CoppellApr 19 2007
STEVE Coppell has been stunned by recent criticisms of his Reading team and is appealing to the club's fans to keep things in perspective.
The Royals' boss insists he became 'fed up" with the flak his players took during an eight-match winless streak.
And even last weekend there were murmurs of discontent despite Reading's long-awaited 1-0 victory against Lawrie Sanchez's Fulham.
Coppell blasted: "Fulham was a very important win for us. I was certainly getting fed up with people saying we hadn't won for a while and had lost our edge.
"Even after the game there were comments about us not playing the same kind of football as we used to.
"But we have no right to perform at any level. Every game for us is a scrap.
"Just because we've done well, we're still very much minnows in this division with 'L' plates on.
"Expectation of a win, and a win with style and confidence, is utterly unrealistic. We do our best to win games, and that's all."
Reading were among the favourites to be relegated at the start of the season.
But they have confounded their critics by challenging for a UEFA Cup spot with virtually an unchanged squad from last season.
However, the griping has continued and even a local radio station slammed the Fulham display, arguing fans should have the cost of their ticket refunded because of the lack of entertainment. But Coppell fumed: "There are a noisy minority who expect too much. I never listen to the local radio but people tell me one particular station, and I don't know which one, was highly critical of us the other day. I just don't understand where they are coming from.
"The vast majority of people I speak to in the street say 'well done' and how great it is we're doing well. They're not being patronising and I feel exactly the same."
But Coppell also insisted: "The fans forum went well recently. Inevitably they're always thinking about the future. Even now supporters are thinking about what we're going to do next year.
"That's already in our thoughts. There are still games left to play this season but we've certainly got one eye on our preparation for the summer and how we will get off to a good start."