Reading are currently halfway through a challenging period of six Tuesday night games in succession and Pogrebnyak was rested at Huddersfield as Steve Clarke looks to protect the well-being of his side.

The 31-year-old has scored three league goals in his last seven games and after a frustrating spell on the treatment table at the end of 2014, he is eager to play every game at the moment.

“I like playing Saturday and Tuesday,” he said. “I like it when there’s more games than training.

“This league is so difficult and it’s one of the hardest I’ve played in.

“When I’m fit I try to be the best I can and help the team however I can, whether that’s through goals or assists.

“I now want to score more goals than I have.” Pogrebnyak is fit and raring to go against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with Reading looking to record their first win in three games at the Madejski Stadium.

It has been a difficult period for Clarke’s side lately but Pogrebnyak believes the Royals can turn their season into a very positive one with a strong league finish and a Wembley berth in the FA Cup.

“This is our situation now,” he added. “We have to fight to avoid relegation. We are where we are in the table so we’ll fight.

“I always expect Reading to be in the top two or top six and we’re disappointed with what place we’re in now.

“It’s not been a very good season for us but it could be a good season. There’s nothing lost at the moment but we are in the FA cup and maybe it will turn into a good season.

“I met some fans after the Leeds game and they said that if we can get to Wembley then it’ll be a good season.” Clarke is expected to make several changes again on Saturday, with Chris Gunter pushing for a return at right-back after being an unused substitution on Tuesday night.

Jamie Mackie is ruled out of the game due to the terms of his loan condition.

The issue of the muddy Madejski Stadium pitch is likely to again raise its head on the weekend but Clarke says that won’t be an excuse if his side don’t get the desired result.

Clarke laughed: “One of my staff told me that the London Irish staff were complaining that it wasn’t a good pitch to play running rugby on so you can imagine what it’s like trying to play football on it.

“But that won’t be an excuse for us on the weekend. We’ll be up for the game against Nottingham Forest as we always are.

“We know we need to get ourselves to that 50 point mark and into the safety of midtable on Saturday.”