Jose Gomes: Play Like That And Good Things Will Happen

After Tuesday’s defeat, an FA Cup fixture against Manchester United was a daunting thought. Although United were victors on the day, what we actually we witnessed was a very positive display at the theatre of dreams.

Goals through Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku put United through to the next round, but the stats don’t lie; 60% of the possession, 13 shots, five shots on target, we didn’t look like a side that is 23rd in the Championship. Hopefully this will give us confidence going into our match against Nottingham Forest next weekend.

Manager Jose Gomes was proud of his sides effort and spoke to both the official club website and Football.London.

Gomes on the performance

“I’m very proud of the courage my players showed during the game. We controlled the game with the ball but if you give a team like this half a chance, they score. And that’s what happened.

”My players tried to do on the pitch what we’ve been doing during the week, the only thing that was missing was the killer instinct, the final pass into the box, the chance to put the ball in the net.

“They moved the ball around the box well, but we lacked the killer instinct to put the ball in the back of the net.

“So, in this moment, I think we should focus on this. And - if we play like we did today against a very strong opponent in Manchester United - we will get the results we are trying to find.”

Gomes on not being able to put away our chances

“We are creating goal-scoring situations, but if you don’t shoot, if you don’t score, it’s impossible to win. I am frustrated by the result. The first goal-scoring situation was ours - a cross from the left which Yids shot over. The second saw Danny dribble around the goalkeeper...so they tried.

”We played well and kept the ball and created, but it means nothing if you don’t put the ball in the net. I want my players to keep the ball, control the game, but in the right moment... kill. And that was what was missing in my team today.

“Play like that and good things will happen. The way we played today gives us hope for the future. We are fighting. And we are deserving more. in the end, we will get what we deserve.”

Gomes on the penalty

“Sometimes the delay for the VAR creates a gap in the football dynamic. I agreed with the decision. It was a foul.”

Gomes on the transfer window

“I would like to do the maximum amount of business I can. I think we should bring four or five players in. We have FFP - we just need to find some loan players who can help us and can be better than the players that we have.

“If they’re not better or we can’t find a loan players respecting FFP then it’s better than not bringing in anyone. I am happy with the players and the way they have been working and the courage they have shown because they give us big hope for the future.”

Gomes on players leaving in January

“We have already taken some decisions and in the right moment we will say what they are.”

Gomes on Bodvarsson’s absence

“He was injured from the previous match. He didn’t train.”

Gomes on the fans

“These players have not won many games recently. We need to change these numbers. And to change these numbers, the whole Reading family must be together. Today, it was amazing to play in Old Trafford of course, but during the game we felt our supporters - around 3,000 I heard.

”It’s fantastic. We need this help from our supporters in the next match to help the players put the ball in the opponent’s net. So I am full of motivation. I feel that the players believe in what we are doing. So we need to win one game and completely turn around the situation we are in.”