Brendan, Saturday's result put you back on track.
Yes. In our last four or five games we've been improving all the time and our recovery from Derby was important. In that match we controlled the game, went 1-0 up and got emotional, because we have a lot of young players. It was always going to be difficult going to Sheffield and it was a good measure of how much we had learned from the week before.

We didn't manage the game properly at Derby so we worked on that in the week and you have to do that with young players. For many it's their first full season in this division. Defensively we were outstanding, in terms of our shape and solidity. We've then always got the possibility to score goals because we have good players. The win and clean sheet were very pleasing, tactically we were very good. We scored two and could have got three or four.

Kalifa Cisse proved his worth with a goal and a good performance.
Outstanding. He's been very, very good since I came in, he's not moaned once even though he's not played a great deal. I said to everyone you will get your chance and you just have to take it. He was outstanding and got a terrific goal. With Brian Howard out that left us Marek in there, and we needed that wee bit of physicality. Wednesday maybe play a more direct game so his physicality was important. He is a great guy and I was asked this week if he's unhappy but nobody has been in better spirits than him. He has shown me great support and I am really happy for him.

You like to play football, and the second goal really was a great team effort.
It was a terrific move and capped off what was a strong performance from us. It was a terrific combination and there were other nice moves in the game as well. We've shown we can be a very good side and if we play like that we'll climb the table. We are growing, and I would much rather learn lessons in the manner we are doing right now. The easy option is just to put together a load of journeymen but you become a nothing team. We have excitement in the team and when we defend like that we're hard to beat.

It's been a while since a clean sheet of course.
That was what I said to the players, two words are important - clean sheet. We functioned as a team very well. It made the journey home a lot better!

What did you say at half time?
Just be calm. Defensively we were good and we just had to marry that up with the final third. We played some real good stuff at times.

McAnuff was outstanding, especially when you switched him back to the right.
We switched Jobi in the second half because we felt he could get a little more joy down their left. I like the wingers to switch during the game and have that freedom. Jobi started on the right because we had Church on the left and I like a striker to be able to cut in on his right and get shots off. Then Churchy went off and Jobi switched to the right, but we changed it once again.

How's Church looking?
He got a knock on his back and just couldn't run it off, it was too sore. He's struggling and we'll have a closer medical assessment.

When you come to a place like Hillsborough, how important is it to silence the crowd?
Any team going there has to control the crowd. If the home team starts with a good momentum they get a wonderful support so it can be difficult, but we did it really well. We kept the ball well and showed good possession with two terrific goals. The mentality was very good.

You watched Wednesday closely in the past, with your cousin Nigel Worthington a legend there, was it nice to lead a team out there?
I watched him a lot when I was younger and the ground has great tradition. I'm proud to lead this team anywhere, and proud to win.

Is the win more important because Wednesday were close in the table?
Yes it's important, and we're continuing to progress. We had a wee setback last week and we should have won, but apart from that we've been excellent recently. I can see the growth. We had a tough fixture list, but no excuses, and now we've got teams in and around us.

Matt Mills is missing out right now, is he injured?
No, you just need to look at the two centre halves at the moment. We've got Ivar for his experience and then Pearcey is hard to leave out. After that, if you're strategically putting together a bench you have to pick players and get the balance right. Matt is working really hard and it's unfortunate. He is very much part of the group, both he and Chrissy Armstrong travelled up to the game and were with the team. The group is very much together and the spirit is strong.

Where do you want to be in May, realistically?
This is a league that can throw up anything. There's a long journey ahead but confidence grows when you play well. We set our targets and we just chip away, game by game. We've got an important five games left this month and there's growth to come. Saturday was about making sure we were positive at the same time as being solid.

Palace lost 3-0 at home so does that make it a bigger game?
I go into every game with big confidence. I believe in our players, especially when they work well like on Saturday. With the ball, some of our performances have been better than Saturday but we were defensively strong. Now we go into Palace, they'll want to bounce back but we're looking to do well at home and we've two home games in a week. We've been very good at home without getting results. We've set our targets and we are positive.

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Five-minute highlights from the game are online now on Reading FC Player, as well as an exclusive double interview with goalscorers Cisse & Rasiak, as well as the thoughts of manager Rodgers.