Paul Ince challenges Reading to achieve ‘something special’ and avoid drop

Reading manager Paul Ince urged his players to become “heroes” after they followed their six-point Championship deduction by the EFL in midweek with a scrappy 1-1 home draw with Birmingham.

Andy Carroll gave the hosts a seventh-minute lead after a slick team move but Birmingham levelled just before the half-hour when Lukas Jutkiewicz powered home a header.

Neither side impressed in a tame second half, the draw dropping Reading into the relegation zone for the first time since the opening day of the season.

Ince said: “I’ve said to the players the situation you are in [points deduction] is not down to you.

“Where you are, you’re in a situation that you’re the victims of. So, whatever happens, it’s not going to be down to you.

“That should give you some freedom to play. So you could also be the hero. You guys can do something special to keep this team in the league.”

Of the draw, Ince said: “We maybe should have won. I thought we were the better team and we created some good chances.

“If you say that it felt like a defeat, then that’s a defeatist kind of attitude. I don’t think we need that at this moment in time.

“We need to be positive and it’s a point well earned.

“We got off to such a good start and, after that, I thought we would go on and get two or three goals.

“But then we went all passive. We started to sit back and, historically, that’s something that seems to happen here.

“We go a goal up and then we feel we have to defend it. But we started dropping deeper and deeper and allowed Birmingham to take control.

“It was poor from us [for their goal]. We don’t get out to the ball, we don’t stop the cross and only one man’s in the box and it’s 1-1.

“Up until then, they hadn’t really looked like scoring. So that was really disappointing.

“We didn’t move on from our goal. We got nervous and sometimes, when players get nervous and start slashing at the ball, it kind of filters through the whole team.”

Birmingham have lost only once in their past six matches.

Head coach John Eustace said: “I was really pleased with the result. We knew the game was always going to be really difficult.

“With Reading’s six points being deducted, it gives them that siege mentality.

“They’ve got some really good players and a fantastic home record so we knew it was going to be a really tough game.

“To go 1-0 down so early was disappointing. It was a well-worked goal from them but, afterwards, I thought the character of our boys really showed.

“We controlled large parts of the game, with good possession, and our goal was a magnificent footballing goal.

“That possibly isn’t like us so much but it was still fantastic. Lukas’ finish was top, top draw.

“His performances of late – well, all season really – have been magnificent and he actually deserves more goals.”

Birmingham are now eight points clear of the drop zone and Eustace added: “I’m not worried about anyone else. All I’m focused on is us being competitive in every game.”