Reading manager Steve Coppell has challenged his players to prove last week's win at Middlesbrough was no one-off success in a season of doom.The Royals take on Manchester City at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday in the knowledge that a good result will see them move out of the Premier League drop zone.

The 1-0 win at the Riverside a week ago was not only their first victory on the road this season but also stopped a run of eight straight defeats. And Coppell called upon his players to take advantage of a weekend when other strugglers were not in action.

He said: "Getting off 22 points was very important because it had become a real millstone round our necks. The same goes for the clean sheet. It was almost as if we had been trying too hard to get one before. It had become such a statement of intent.

"Often in golf the harder you try the worse you get and we had become so focused on a clean sheet it was being forced. Usually you play your best football in a relaxed frame of mind. We were forever frightened of conceding a goal.

"I hope now we are back on track but we need confirmation of that with a good performance on Saturday against a very good team.

"We still have our task in front of us. One result was significant but not very with 10 games and 30 points to play for. There are a lot of managers who are not happy with their situation and I'm one of them."

Coppell, who has allowed striker Leroy Lita to spend a month on loan at Championship promotion hopefuls Charlton, is likely to stick with the side that beat Boro, which had been significantly reshaped for the occasion following so many losses.

He said: "I have been crying out for a winning combination so it would be perverse of me to make another four or five changes - unless the four or five changes is the secret formula."

City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson could very well give his own side a shake-up following two disappointing results in front of their own fans, a 2-0 defeat to Everton and a goal-less draw with Wigan.

City beat Reading 2-1 at Eastlands in November thanks to a last-minute goal from Stephen Ireland and Coppell admitted he had been bitterly disappointed not to have come away with a point that day.

He said: "We played a full part in it at their place but a momentary lapse of concentration cost us.

"We were against a good team that was on a strong run, certainly at home. Now they have had a couple of bad results at home so they will probably enjoy playing away and get back on the winning track as I don't think they have given up their hope of a European spot even if some experts say they have lost their chance."

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