Reading FC Chief Executive Nigel Howe has written an exclusive blog for readingfc.co.uk

The two-week gap between games means that the meeting with Aston Villa on Sunday 24th February will be approached with an even greater sense of anticipation - and it is clearly a very important game.

Of course, the season won't be decided by one result alone and there are still plenty of fixtures remaining, but our current position in the bottom three means that we need a win as soon as possible.

We all have to face up to our situation and respond accordingly, and the best response could perhaps be described as 'positive defiance'. Positive because we need to be constructive and focussed, defiant because we are not prepared to give up.

We will not hide. We will accept our responsibilities and we will come out fighting. We have taken this club a long way in a short space of time, overcoming a number of obstacles along the way. Now we have to move forward together again - it is time to stand up and be counted.

At this time, we need everybody connected with Reading Football Club to ask themselves this question: 'What can I do?' Whether you are a player, coach, member of staff or supporter, is there anything you can do to improve our chances of winning?

Our players have been magnificent for the last few years and I can only echo the confidence that Steve Coppell has expressed in their ability to deliver the goods once again. They have already proved that they are good enough and they can do it again.

Likewise, our fans have been tremendous this season - but in our current situation everybody needs to up their game, and that includes supporters.

Anyone who has watched football for any length of time will be able to recall matches where the positive atmosphere created by fans has played an indisputable role in their team's success - our comeback victory against Middlesbrough in our first Premier League game springs to mind.

When Aston Villa come to town a week on Sunday, we need to meet them with an atmosphere of positive defiance by players and supporters alike. This is our home and we will not be beaten.

This is certainly not meant to be disrespectful towards Aston Villa, a club and a team for whom we have great admiration. But in honesty, the identity of our opponents next weekend and for the rest of the season doesn't really matter - we just have to do everything we can to beat them.

There are bound to be nerves around Madejski Stadium when the game comes around. That is natural, but those nerves can be used to our advantage if they are manifested in the right way.

For the players, the nervous energy has to translate into a determined, focussed and purposeful performance. As Stephen Hunt said after the game at Everton, we cannot play with fear - we have to be confident in our abilities and focus on what we stand to gain, not what we can lose.

The same applies to supporters. Rather than tensely sitting and chewing your fingernails, be exuberant. Clap your hands and stamp your feet and shout yourself hoarse. Exert a positive influence on the outcome of the game.

We have everything to play for. Let's all give it everything we've got.

Nigel Howe
Chief Executive