PAUL McShane has branded Reading FC’s style of play as ‘like Russian roulette’ ahead of Saturday’s home clash against high-flying Burnley (3pm ko), writes Anthony Smith.

The straight-talking skipper has been heavily critical of his team’s recent performances that have seen Royals pick up a mere two wins from their last 13 Championship fixtures.

Brian McDermott’s men stretched their winless run in the league to five matches with a dour 0-0 home draw against Wolves last weekend, leaving them 15th in the table.

And with a paltry haul of nine points from the last 36 up for grabs, McShane offered his own take on where the problems lie.

“It’s hard to put your finger on it,” he declared. “We didn’t have many clear-cut chances against Wolves, we just needed a goal.

“At the start of the season we were scoring early on in games, we were creating lots of chances and keeping other teams out.

“But it feels a bit like Russian roulette at the moment where it could go either way.

“We attack then the opposition attack and there is no in between, no stability.
“We’ve got to put that right and be more solid so that when we do go forward we aren’t caught on the break.”

This Saturday’s clash against Burnley is a prime example of Reading’s steady decline over the season that included the sacking of Steve Clarke in December and the re-appointment of Brian McDermott.

Royals pulled off one of their biggest results of the campaign when they beat the Clarets 2-1 at Turf Moor in late September with goals from Lucas Piazon and Nick Blackman to send them up to third in the table.

Now Burnley lie in third place with Reading languishing a full 20 points behind in 15th.

McShane admitted: “It’s upsetting. It upsets me anyway when I look at the table and see us 15th considering the start we had to the season.

“We just need that mental resilience. I think that’s what we are lacking at times.

“The Championship is a big, mental challenge. You’ve got to be on it every single game and we haven’t been. That’s why we are where we are. Winning at Burnley at the start of the season was great, but we haven’t kept it up.”

However, McShane insists Reading have the ability to do the double over Sean Dyche’s men.

“We have shown we can beat them and now they are coming to our backyard,” he stressed.

“They are flying at the minute, but we’ll be looking for three points.

“Everyone has to have that belief and the strength to go out there and get that win.”

McShane was sidelined for most of January with a calf problem and he is now hoping to stay injury free from here on.

“It’s good to be back,” he confessed. “I suppose it takes time to get used to things again, but I’m just glad to be back playing.

“The swirling wind made it very difficult against Wolves and the pitch was bobbly, so it was a scrappy game. Clean sheets are always nice and I suppose that’s the only positive.”