Jose Gomes On End Of Season And Summer Ahead

The end of a long hard season is upon us, and even though it has been a tough watch at times, there have been plenty of memories that Reading fans can keep with them for years to come. Most of that is down to Jose Gomes who has completely changed the club and brought back the feel-good factor for the first time in many years. His hard work was rewarded through a personal tribute of Portugal Day and it was thoroughly deserved.

The season ended in positive fashion, with a 0-0 draw against Birmingham City which means we finished in 20th overall. There were lots of things for Gomes to discuss after the game from John O’Shea, to the summer ahead and much more. Here is what he had to say to both the official club website and GetReading.

Gomes on the game

“For the way we controlled the ball and the situations we created, I think the players and fans deserved more than just a point. It was a good game between two different styles of play. It was a nice football party with a lot of things which happened.

“Three young players started the game, Howe played in the first team for the first time and O’Shea finished his career so there were a lot of emotions. It was Portugal Day as well but my players did well and deserved two points more.”

Gomes on the front three of Barrett, Olise, and Loader

“They did some fantastic decisions - some they should have done better but it’s part of their growing process. We must be patient with them.”

Gomes on the fans

“Since I arrived, the fans really created a lot of good emotion. They were very important for the team.

”Today, again, the fans deserved three points. But I think they enjoyed the way that we played – with a lot of young players starting the game. It was a very nice football party.”

Gomes on John O’Shea

“I’ve never seen anything like that. For me, it means a lot - the respect. Without doing anything, he conquered the respect.

“He’s a very intelligent person, he doesn’t talk much but when he talks everybody listens. All the players respect him a lot. He had a fantastic career and he deserved it. That’s what his colleagues showed today - the respect of a player who has won everything. It was the players’ idea - it means they all respect him a lot.”

Gomes on Portugal Day

”I am really grateful to the fans for what they have done during my time here, and especially today.

”For me, when I heard what the fans wanted to do for Portugal Day, it was a big surprise. It’s the kind of beautiful thing that can happen in sport – people can create these kind of relations.”

Gomes on what’s next

“The success of next season depends on the next two or three weeks. Some things are not in our hands, but the things that are - we need to reduce the number of players, reduce the budget and get some money to do a job over the next two or three weeks.

“The key for next season will be how we work in these two or three weeks. It will be difficult but it’s our job.

“We have players who are finishing their contracts, players who are on loan and will finish their loans and we don’t if their clubs accept they can return or not, and we have players under contract but we must find a way to resolve their problem because they cannot go on with us any more.

“Until June 30, we must make money with players, otherwise we cannot make [offer] any contracts. That’s the reality so we must take decisions. We have to put everything on the table and make decisions.

“I must talk with all the players because they deserve respect but it’s a football thing. The players know we need to make money and reduce the budget. Even if they are not happy about the decision they will understand.”

Gomes on transfers

“I have a clear picture of which players we must move and which players we should bring in, if we can. But we must do it step by step, find the space to bring in targets, and I know what targets I want to bring in.”

Gomes on next season

”Next season will be a different thing – but with this environment, this happiness, this atmosphere in our stadium, we can look at the points that we were able to get in our stadium and it is really amazing considering the situation we were in.

”And the points that we got here were the result of the support we received. Now, we begin the important work in getting ready for next season. This is the vital thing.”

Have a wonderful summer folks, here’s to a very successful 2019/2020 season! URZ!!