Royals boss Steve Coppell refused to scream and shout at his players after a defeat to Spurs that sees them drop into the bottom three with one game of the season remaining.

"They gave me their all. Even at half time, I told them their effort had been incredible," he said afterwards. 

"They worked so hard to stay in the game, but we should have changed things a little quicker ."

Juande Ramos' men were by far the better side in the first half and could have added to their lead if it wasn't for some excellent goalkeeping from Marcus Hahnemann and an incorrect offside flag in our favour.

"When we saw the teamsheet, I was disappointed. I would have been happier with Berbatov and Lennon playing - they have more of a defined shape that way.

"But when they weren't picked, the midfield was very mobile and it wasn't really anchored.

"The quality and possession they had - they just passed it around and we didn't know what our roles were defensively.

"Their passing and their movement combined, certainly in the first 20 minutes, would in different circumstances have been nice to watch!

"After they'd scored, we changed formation, matching them up in a diamond shape.

"Unsure of how they were going to set up, we couldn't adjust quickly enough.

"At half time we got the chance to sit the players down and describe what we wanted to do, and then it became a little bit more structured.

"And 10-15 minutes before half time we had begun to come to terms with it a bit."

And once Coppell had reshaped his side, the match was a much more even affair, with the Royals threatening to clinch at least a point with some free-flowing attacking play Reading fans are much more accustomed to.

"As the home team you hope you are going to take the game to the opposition and impose yourself.

"You want the opposition to react to what you are doing, but it was hard to grasp who was playing where and who was doing what at first.

"We were setting up today to try and attack, so all of a sudden we had to switch our focus a certain amount.

"But our desire drove us forward but we needed that extra subtlety - that class in front of goal, that bit of quality to just create more and force a goal."

The Royals will need to break that goalscoring streak if they are to stay up as it all comes down to the final day.

"It is hard when you are at the bottom obviously and when you haven't scored for so long. People remind you about it all the time. 

"Is it disappointing? Yes, of course it is. We've enjoyed playing here and we want to continue to play at this level.

"So it is down to us to try and get a win next week. We have to get a result to give ourselves a chance.

"We are still in the mix and still have an opportunity. But it is down to us to deliver now."

A full post-match interview with Steve is live on Reading World now. See our free preview clip.