Royals to follow Stoke model

Brian McDermott: Hoping that Reading can follow the example of Stoke

Brian McDermott has revealed he hopes to emulate the success of Stoke City as Reading prepare to kick off their Premier League campaign against the Potters on Saturday.

The Royals have plenty of examples to follow of teams that have thrived following promotion from the Championship but McDermott believes their opening opponents are the perfect model.

New Reading owner Anton Zingarevich revealed this week one of the reasons he bought the club was because of their geographical location, with the Berkshire side far enough away from their Premier League rivals to give them exclusive access to a huge potential fanbase.

It is a similar story for Stoke in the North West and Tony Pulis' side have enjoyed a dream four-year stay in the Premier League since their own promotion, reaching an FA Cup final and qualifying for Europe.

And although Reading may not want to emulate the Potters' brand of football, they are looking to copy other elements that have made them so successful.

McDermott said: "When I first met Anton, we spoke about Tony Pulis and we spoke about Stoke and that model and how well they've done.

"Not only have they survived, but they've got to an FA Cup final, they've played in Europe, they've brought in some really big players over the years.

"So, it's a really good model for us to follow."

No targets

Indeed, the wealth of the Zingarevich family is said to be comparable to that of Stoke chairman Peter Coates, being in the hundreds of millions of pounds rather than the billions of fellow Russian Roman Abramovich.

And it seems the Premier League's latest mega-rich owner is far less demanding than his Chelsea counterpart.

McDermott said: "He's not set any targets and I wouldn't expect him to.

"He didn't set a target of promotion last season. He thought when I first met him it might be another season, so maybe we're in front of the game as far as he's concerned."

He added: "He's a really good guy, we get on well, and we want to try to bring the club forward."

Zingarevich has given McDermott the financial backing to strengthen his squad this summer but there may still be more transfer activity at the Madejski Stadium before the end of the month.

McDermott said: "The players that we've identified, we've got in.

"Whatever the money situation, we've said, 'This is what it's going to cost', and we've done it.

"We don't think we've spent vast amounts but we think we've signed the right players."

That has not stopped Reading being tipped - as is customary for promoted teams - for an immediate return to the Championship.

McDermott said: "There's nothing I can do about that, really. Not too many people tipped us to win the Championship last season. There was nothing I could do about that either."