Ruben Selles: Reading Needed To Compete Better In Cambridge Defeat

The Royals suffered a disappointing loss on Monday night after a late goal at Cambridge United. Manager Ruben Selles said after the game that we didn’t perform the way he’d have liked us to, with the home side scoring in the 83rd minute to secure the win.

Going into the international break, Reading are 18th, with five points from their first six games. Selles was very disappointed in the performance during his reflections of the game; he spoke to the official club website and Reading Chronicle.

Selles on the performance

“We didn’t perform in the way that we want to perform, and we didn’t do the things that we want to do. We played against a very solid and organised team that took advantage of their strengths, and we were not able to make our tempo or follow the tempo of the game.

“There were some periods where we did better and created some chances. But I’m disappointed with the score, and I’m disappointed with the performance from all of us.

“We should control and dominate the game better. What counts is to score goals. We had chances to score; those moments are not going for us. So we need to fight back, get those moments on our side.

“Football in the end is about winning. And if you don’t win, you have a situation where you can start to doubt about what we do. We have a team that is working hard and doing some good things, but we need to learn how to compete together in those games.

“That is my task: to keep everybody focused and on line. We know where we are coming from – and now we have two weeks to prepare for the next game. We should take advantage of that.”

Selles on moving forward after the International Break

“We don’t need to make excuses – because we have been able to compete in games, and again this is a one-goal difference.

“That’s how we take it; now it’s how ruthless we can be, how much we can compete, how much we want to win. We need to show more to turn it around.

“We should not only use this time to recover – we should also use it to be more focused on the things we can do better.

“That’s where we will put all of our thoughts to be better – then play the next game at home, and try to win the game.”

Selles on Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan

“He has been playing a lot of minutes for us and there were a couple of parameters that indicated he was a little bit tired and probably could not carry on for 90 minutes and was at risk of injury. Kelvin has been performing really well and everybody knows my thoughts on him.”

Selles on Nesta Guinness-Walker and Tom Holmes

“We had a conversation with them. Nesta played yesterday for the under-21s against Arsenal. They need to be match fit. Tom Holmes didn’t play yesterday but he has trained. The players in our squad are part of it and we count on them like a normal player. I made my decision on football things, and they have been working hard but in the last few weeks they have not been in the line-up.

“The door is open for everyone until they go to another club or ask to go, so for them, the door is always open. Some transfer windows are open also. If they have the chance and want to go, we are ready to listen but every player in the squad is accountable for us.”