Steve Coppell says that Andre Bikey's acrobatic goal celebrations are just another example of his 'natural exuberance'.

The Cameroonian defender turned in a spectacular display by netting a brace of headers to help the Royals to a vital 2-1 win at home to Birmingham City on Saturday.

After the game Bikey dedicated the two goals to the memory of his mother-in-law, who had passed away earlier in the weekend.

And Coppell admits that Bikey's enthusiasm, encapsulated by his somersaults after both goals, is part of what makes him such a good player.

He said, "I hope he does it another half a dozen times. I've no problem with it - it's just his natural exuberance. I don't think it's a trademark celebration - he's not scored enough for it to be a trademark. It was an explosion of emotion.

"Andre is a very warm human being, he always has a smile. He's had a really eventful career if you analyse it. I think he's played in Spain, Portugal, Russia and now England as well as his obvious Cameroon experience.

"So for a relatively young man, Andre has huge experience. And I know he feels very settled with us and is comfortable in the environment. His wife and little baby are here, so he's pleased with the way things are going. And it's pleasing for us that he's doing well and living up to the potential that we thought he had."

After the blow of missing out on an appearance in the Final of the African Nations Cup recently, Bikey has returned to make a big impact in Reading's return to form in the Premier League. And Coppell says that the disappointment of his red card for Cameroon has spurred him on to make amends at club level.

Coppell added, "I never spoke with Andre about the African Cup until about three or four weeks after he'd returned. I never really went into any detail about the incident, but he seems alright about things now.

"Playing in the African Nations gave him an awful lot of confidence. It was only in injury time of the semi-final that he blotted his copybook. He came back and if anything, the incident gave him extra incentive to put things right."

"As a player he is strong and he's got an eye for goal. Once he gets into a run in the box he is hard to stop. But it's not just about three or four games, we've got seven more to go and he has to keep his concentration."