The first of the final three league games begins this weekend, with Reading hosting Blackburn Rovers, who defeated them 4-1 in RG2.

The remaining games are critical to the Royals’ survival aspirations, with only two points (and a game in hand) separating them from the drop – but a win on Sunday would significantly increase Gilbert’s side’s chances of surviving.

Before the game, read the boss’s pre-match thoughts below:

“We’ve had some good, honest conversations and reviewed the footage, and it’s been a recurring theme that we haven’t come out in the second half of games in the last three weeks.”

“That’s something we’ve identified as something we need to improve on, after fighting for the majority of the first half, when we were arguably the better team.”

“Blackburn’s previous game was exactly this; in the first half, we were by much the better team, but points are all that matters at this point in the season.

“Playing the same side back-to-back is unique; it allows us to take a deeper dive into the opposition and analyse things more thoroughly.

“That being said, they’ll be looking at the same material we’re analysing from the last game, looking at different concepts that played out during the game, and I’m guessing the fixture this Sunday will be more of a chess match.

“So, it’s been a fascinating week from an analysing standpoint, and we’ll have to see how the game plays out.

“Obviously, the game last time out had many different positives and negatives, and I don’t believe it was appropriate to dwell on just one.

“I believe that much of what we practiced leading up to the game translated nicely on the pitch. However, repeating our mistakes and conceding our goals is not an option, so that is one area where we must improve.

“It’s something we obviously cannot ignore, so we have to fight together, to rectify these issues and we know that with a win on Sunday we’re given our hopes of survival a huge boost.”

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