Latvian defender Kaspars Gorkss reflected on the good and the bad from the Newcastle draw - and enthusiastically looked forward to Saturday’s clash at Swansea.
The plucky centre back has been paired alongside summer signing Adrian Mariappa for the past two games - which Gorkss feels the Royals have produced solid performances in.
“I thought we deserved to beat Newcastle,” he said. “Obviously they equalised with a handball but we could have done better with the first goal with it being so soon after the restart.
“We took the positives from the game - this is the level of intensity we need in this league. If we keep this up, I’m sure we’ll win games.
“It was my second game together with Mapps and I think we did okay generally. There are a couple of things we can improve on as goals were conceded but it’s not a bad partnership at all.”
With Jimmy Kebe and Jason Roberts returning from injuries, the squad has become even stronger – a factor that Gorkss is relishing ahead of Saturday’s trip to Swansea.
“The last two games were pretty good – much better than against Tottenham and West Brom. We’re ready to go again for Swansea.
“I don’t think we’ll do anything different – in general, we should be happy with our last two performances but also learn from our mistakes.
“It’s great to have Jimmy and Jason back – we have a really competitive squad that will help us this season.”