Reading manager Jose Gomes declared himself pleased with his side's away form ahead of this weekend's trip to Middlesbrough - but admitted he still wasn't totally satisfied with his team's displays.

The Royals have only lost one game on the road this term, a 2-1 defeat to Hull in the second game of the season but have turned in impressive performances at West Brom and Huddersfield, as well as two wins away from the Madejski in the Carabao Cup.

The Portuguese said: "I am very pleased with the way we are playing away from home.

"Even against Hull, we didn't play well in the first half but in the second half, we played well enough to score another goal.

"The players have been doing very well and have been very strong defensively.

"What I see, and it is a small detail, is if we defend deep we are very strong defensively but it is a big risk.

"We have so many minutes without the ball because if the opposition has the ball in the last third, anything can happen.

"To tell you the truth, I don't feel comfortable as a coach to see my team playing all the time without the ball.

"We must improve this. However, we are defending very well with the back five and if we cover the midfield spaces, it is difficult for the opposition to find the opening to goal.

"We have quality and speed to find our way to the counter attack but defending this way, it is difficult to achieve big targets.

"The idea is not to change the formation but to stop the opposition further from our goal and that is the step that we must give now."

The back five, with two wing-backs, has worked well in the main, especially away from home. However, Gomes believes the formation works just as well at the Mad Stad too.

He added: "Against Cardiff, it worked very well.

"A back five can be a very defensive system and formation but it can be very offensive.

"It depends on the wing-backs dynamic and what they give to the game and where the midfielders are.

"Swift and Ejaria shoot a lot to the opponents goal and create a good action.

"The players dynamic with the same formation can turn a defensive situation into an offensive one.

"We saw last season, Sheffield United. They played with three defenders, sometimes five but they had a fantastic attacking dynamic and were defensively very strong and very difficult to beat.

"We can keep this formation as the players are comfortable."