'Powerful': Leam Richardson stresses Reading must beware of threat Mansfield Town pose
Leam Richardson does not want to see his side fall victim to a similar result Mansfield Town issued over Luton Town on Sunday.
Stags made a massive statement on Sunday when they thrashed promotion hopefuls Luton 5-2 at the One Call Stadium. Nigel Clough is now eager to build on that momentum and wants his side to ‘back up’ the win with another positive result against Reading.
The Luton drubbing has put Stags seventh in the League One table ahead of the midweek fixtures but Reading are struggling near the bottom after their opening fixtures.
The Royals have played just two matches so far and have a single point on the board. Their previous results ended in a 4-3 defeat to Luton and a 0-0 draw against Wimbledon. Manager Leam Richardson will be eager to get his side’s first League One win in the bag but he’s well aware of the threat Mansfield pose, especially after the Hatters were made an example of at the weekend.
“We are up against a really good team. They are not a team who carry a sexy name, but the manager has been there five or six years and recruited a powerful team who are very experienced and know their way around the level. We saw the result and performance they delivered at the weekend so if we are not at it, we will be on the back of a result. Fingers crossed we can deliver in a vein of form like we have,” Richardson told RoyalsTV.
Reading may be without a league win but they are unbeaten in their last three games in all competitions. Last month, they earned an EFL Trophy bonus point against Wycombe after a penalty shootout and then beat Stevenage 3-0 in the Carabao Cup after their Wimbledon stalemate.
“We started with the Carabao Cup and had the EFL Trophy between a couple of league games, and then had a game cancelled for a festival. It has given us time to get on the grass and recruit, which is a task in itself,” Richardson continued. “It will be a really good game. Going off the back of the last few performances, if we keep improving then our results will become more consistent.”