Kevin Doyle says that the Fulham could be treating this weekend's game at Madejski Stadium as a 'last chance saloon' in their bid to stay in the Premier League.
The West London side know that defeat to Reading would leave them teetering on the brink of relegation, and Doyle is anticipating a high tempo encounter.
He said, "Fulham won't be an easy game, because this is almost their last chance saloon. They have to get something from the game, probably need to win it. So they'll be massively up for it, they won't be sitting back. I'm sure they'll be going for it, and that might suit us if it's played at a high tempo.
"People are saying we should win this game, but I don't like saying we should beat any team. Fulham are a Premier League team who are there for a reason. But we need to get a result, and we're at home, where we've done well this season. So that's what we'll look to do, and if we play well we'll have a very good chance."
With just five games remaining this season, a win for the Royals would push them close to the safety mark in the Premier League table. Doyle admits the pressure is on, but refuses to label the game as a 'must win'.
He added, "People talk about some games being 'must win', but I never like to say that. To me, the only time that is the case is when it's the last day of the season and you need to win to stay up.
"So this is not quite a must win, but it would be very, very important to us if we were to win.
Doyle says that after the game he will be straight into the dressing room to try and catch the rest of the Premier League scores coming in, knowing that results elsewhere could have a big impact on the Royals fate.
He said, "In Newcastle there wasn't a TV in the dressing room. We had to wait until we were back on the bus to have a look at the results on our mobile phones.
"But at the home matches we have one. After the game, the manager says his bit and then the TV is put on for us to see the results coming in.
"Obviously this time of year everyone is looking at it a bit more keenly than they'd normally do. After Saturday's game against Fulham I'm sure we'll all be having a look, and if the results have gone our way and we've won as well, I'm sure it will be a very nice feeling.
"You never know how many points will be needed for safety. It might be a few wins, but we might actually not even need any more points, although that is unlikely.
"But getting a few wins and a draw here or there would be great, and 38 points would be hard to beat now I suppose."
Doyle says there was a strong sense of disappointment after the 3-0 loss at Newcastle on Saturday. He says he felt sorry for the travelling army of Royals fans who made the 600-mile round trip to witness the defeat. And he admitted that the Royals just never came to grips with Newcastle's adventurous 4-3-3- formation.
He said, "We played against a Newcastle team who are just coming into form - it was the wrong time for us to play them. The way they played made it difficult for us, we had to adjust the way we played and that doesn't usually work for us. Apart from the first 10 minutes of the game, they bossed it and deserved to win.
"Newcastle is a long way to go, and it was great to see that many fans up there, even though at Newcastle they're put about three miles from the pitch! It is great that they travelled up that far - and we were really disappointed after the game."
