The battle against relegation has become even more difficult for Reading after their 3-2 defeat at Norwich City.

Royals manager Jaap Stam dodged his media duties after a ninth game without a win saw his team drop to 20th and just three points clear of the relegation zone, sending assistant Andries Ulderink instead.

'If you can show what you show in the second half, why can't we do it in the first half as well? Maybe it's a mental thing caused by the pressure,' said Ulderink.

'We're in a 100 percent relegation scrap. We know the situation is not good. We know where we are and how we've performed so far this season it's not going to be an easy job to stay away from the relegation zone.'

He continued: 'We know it's going to be a tough last eight games and we have to fight. It's a difficult job at the moment, that's for sure. But we are still confident as a group that we can turn it around.'