PAUL Clement insists he is not the ‘saviour’ of Reading FC.

Boss Clement has made a positive impact since replacing Jaap Stam last month.

Reading had won just once in 18 league games when Stam left, but have now picked up two victories from their last three matches under Clement.

The former Swansea manager is hoping to keep their impressive form going when Royals travel to third-placed Fulham tonight (7.45pm ko).

Clement has masterminded back-toback home wins and clean sheets against QPR and Preston North End to boost Reading’s survival hopes in the Championship.

Last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Preston leaves Royals five points above the relegation zone going into tonight’s clash at Craven Cottage.

But Clement refused to take the credit for the dramatic turnaround.

“From a points tally point of view, I’m very happy,” he explained. “We’ve taken six points from nine which is encouraging.

“I wasn’t very happy with what happened at Aston Villa the other night (lost 3-0) but, based on the run before I arrived, it’s a positive turnaround and we’ve got to keep it going.

“I’ve gone into a club before and got some positive results early on. I’ve also been at a club where I struggled for results then the man coming in behind me manages to get them.

“I don’t think I’m the saviour here, I’m just trying to work well with these players and they’re responding well.”

When asked if he’s enjoying his work, he replied: “No. I enjoy training but not the games.”

Reading Chronicle:

Mo Barrow celebrates after heading Royals in front in the 1-0 win over Preston North End.

Reading’s victory over Preston was their first in the league on a Saturday afternoon this season and for almost a year.

Mo Barrow notched his 10th goal of the season to give Royals a 12th minute lead before Clement’s men were forced to repel a barrage of Preston attacks to clinch the three points.

But Clement anticipates Fulham will pose a very different kind of threat.

Slaviša Jokanović's side are on a superb run and are unbeaten in 19 league games.

‘I expect the game to be more fluent with less direct play,” he said. “Fulham play good football, they have good athleticism so it will be a different test.

“We’ll use training to prepare well for it.”

Reading drew 1-1 at home with Fulham earlier in the season and beat them in last season’s Championship play-off semi finals before losing to Huddersfield in the final.

Clement is unlikely to make many changes for tonight’s fixture, though he could leave out full-back Omar Richards, who was taken off at half time against Preston on Saturday.

“It was a gamble to throw him in because we knew there were issues over his physical condition because he’d missed a lot of games,” added Clement.

“He’s only had two full training sessions with the squad so he’s out of condition. That was about as much as we could get out of him. He had a bit of difficulty and Preston aimed a lot of balls at him.

“The opposition managers sees that he’s young and is probably out of condition, so it’s a tactic they wanted to use.

“So I took him off to protect him which was the best thing for the team. We reorgansied a bit and it worked out okay.”

Fulham’s 1-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday left them third in the table and two points behind Cardiff City.

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