READING FC boss Nigel Adkins has promised fans he wants to give them a club to be proud of - but admits results need to improve in the short term.

Royals have lost seven of their last 11 games in all competitions and sit 14th in the Championship table ahead of tough trips to Cardiff City this Friday, before visiting Norwich City.

Reading have won just once in the league away from the Madejski Stadium this season - at Middlesbrough back in August - and were beaten at home by Charlton last time out.

But Adkins believes the club is on the right track and hard work on the training ground will soon bear dividends.

He admitted: “We’re all well aware what football is, it’s the here and the now so our endeavour is to keep striving to win games of football because that’s what keeps everyone happy.

“But hopefully the way we’re bringing our younger players through is entertaining for our supporters, and that’s what football’s all about - the supporters. We’ve got to make sure we’re giving them something to be proud of and something to enjoy.”

Adkins revealed he had met with the club’s new Thai owners on Monday, and believes the talks were positive.

He also played down speculation suggesting the pressure on him to turn Royals' fortunes around is increasing by the week.

He said: “The owners were across this week and they were excellent. We had a really, really good meeting over a long period of time together and they were excellent. I’m really excited about what’s going to go on at Reading Football Club in the future and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Adkins takes his side to South Wales tonight (7.45pm ko) aiming to halt a run of five away defeats in six, but is confident Royals’ players have no mental block when it comes to playing away.

He revealed: “The mentality is good. When you look at the goals away from home, we’ve conceded too many having actually been doing alright.

"Lets not hide away from it, I’m the biggest one for analysis and we’ve conceded too many goals away from home.

“That’s something we work on on the training ground and we strive to improve on, not just individually but collectively.

“I look at the Cardiff game from an opportunity point of view to get three points and we’ve been close on occasions this season away from home with some good performances, but the results are the big thing that matters.

“For us we’ve got an opportunity to go down to Cardiff and play a game of football in a manner which gives us an opportunity to win.”

Royals - who could face former players Adam Le Fondre and Sean Morrison in the Welsh capital - will themselves be boosted by the return of winger Garath McCleary, and a delighted Adkins gushed: “It’s like getting a new player for us and already you see on the training ground the threat he poses from an attacking point of view, so we’re delighted he can become available.”

The Royals boss also urged his players and supporters to stay positive as the season approaches the half-way stage.

“We can dwell on the past and things that are going on, we can dwell on negativity but it’s not going to get you anywhere,” he said.

“We need to be positive, we need to be on the front foot and we need to keep moving forward. We can learn and push on.”

There will be live coverage of tonight's game in Cardiff on the Chronicle website...