Reading manager Steve Coppell has urged the club's youngsters to force their way into the first-team fold at the Madejski Stadium.Coppell is keen to see as much homegrown talent as possible rise through the ranks at the Royals and believes the likes of Alex Pearce, James Henry and Hal Robson-Kanu will be pushing for regular places this season.

"We have a number of younger players who are not too far away," Coppell told the club's official website.

"It would be brilliant if one or two of them could make the step and actually play a role, but that has to be based on ability, not on sentiment.

"We will be looking for some of them to make an impact and we'll have a smaller squad but bigger demands."

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