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Martinez Reading Are The Team To Beat
Martinez Reading Are The Team To Beat
Friday, 16th Jan 2009 09:50

Swansea manager Roberto Martinez believes that Reading are the team to beat in the Championship.

Rarely this season have the Liberty Stadium club been handed a footballing lesson but the Swans will be hoping to avenge the 4-0 loss to the Royals tomorrow afternoon. Admitting that the squad were not themselves that day Martinez, is desperate to ensure the Berkshire club don't do the double over Swansea as he told the SWEP, he said “We weren't ourselves for half an hour when we went to Reading. When you do that against a side who in my opinion should still be in the Premier League, you are going to get punished. “

He added “What disappointed me was that we didn't do ourselves justice that day. We threw the game away because we never competed until the second half, when I felt we were the better side. You can't leave yourselves open like we did and defend with no intensity. Our performance was unacceptable, but now we have a great opportunity to show that we can compete with a very good team like Reading. This is a chance to get rid of that bad feeling we had and a chance for us to redeem ourselves."

Ridding high in second place just four points off of first placed Wolves makes them the team to beat according to the Spaniard, as he now alludes too, "Not many sides are able to do both things very well, so Reading are the team to beat in my eyes. Tomorrow will be a huge challenge for us."

“If you ask me who I think will finish top in the Championship, I'd go for Reading. You look at the experience of their players and the way they play as a team. They are very strong and organised defensively and they also score lots of goals, so they have a great balance.”

With a demanding fixture list ahead Swansea are still within touching distance of a play off spot but the experience the squad have gained has certainly pleased Martinez, “The players have gained a lot of experience at this level this season and we are ready for the last third of the campaign."

"After this we will have played the top three in the division home and away as well as Burnley, who I regard as making up the top four.We have had to cope with a very demanding fixture list so far, but after Reading we can look forward to the rest of the season.

 

Photo: Action Images



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