Kalifa Cisse believes that all of his teammates must be ready to play their part, as Brendan Rodgers' men prepare for the hectic Christmas period.

The Malian international was evidence in chief of Reading's strength in depth this weekend, as he returned to the side for the first time in six weeks before scoring his first goal of the Championship campaign.

"The team came together and were strong and it was a great win for everyone," he said.

"We have a good group of 22 or 23 players and everyone needs to be ready and to keep going. It's very important because we have a big December coming up, a big month with six games and it's very important for everyone to take advantage of that.

"Some players didn't travel on Saturday but that victory was for everyone. We have two games coming up in a week now, we have to have fresh players and we have to be ready.

"No games are easy, we're playing at home and we have to win and get a positive result. If we don't do well on Tuesday then the Wednesday result means nothing. We have to keep this dynamic going for the next game."

A vociferous bunch of travelling fans backed the Royals to the hilt as they picked up a 2-0 victory at Hillsborough, and Kalifa was quick to thank them for their support.

"I'm happy, I like the Reading fans. Every time they get behind the team and every time I score I like to celebrate with the players and the fans. I get confidence when they chant my name, it's very important to have eleven on the pitch but the fans are the twelfth man.

"I'm not a regular scorer but when I score I'm very happy. I came back into the team for the first time in a month and a half and it felt normal."