Royals boss Brian McDermott was very pleased with his team's character and quality as they fought back valiantly to earn a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough.

A brilliant run from Jimmy Kebe forced David Wheater into an equalising own goal midway through the second half, and Reading were certainly the team more likely to win as the game went on.

Brian said, "I thought we were good, we had a few chances late on and you don't normally get that many up here. I was pleased with the performance, it was a good point and a draw was the least we deserved, we could have won.

"'Boro are a good side, they started well but we came to terms with it and got better as the first half went on. It was disappointing to go behind and it could have been a blow, but we showed character and quality and I was happy with that, we had a good shape to our team.

"It was a great run from Jimmy for the goal and I thought we were pushing for a winner. Gylfi had a chance late with the free kick but the keeper saved it and Shane also had an opportunity with a header from Jimmy's fantastic cross but couldn't connect. We could possibly have gone on to win it, it was two teams trying to win the game and it was quite open with five or ten minutes left.

"We've come a long way in a short time and long may it continue. We had a gameplan and almost pulled it off."

Kebe was the best player on the pitch in the second half, and came close to single-handedly earning us a win. Brian said, "He was very, very brave. I said to him at half time 'don't worry about losing the ball.' It will happen, given the way he plays but it's just not an issue to me. He caused problems, he has come to the fore this season. I was delighted with him and with everybody.

"You know when you come here it will be tough but I'm so proud of the players over my entire period as manager. It was very important psychologically to come up here and play as well as we did.

"We flew up on Friday, the Chairman gave us that opportunity and it makes such a difference. We didn't have a five or six hour journey on the road and it just makes you appreciate the supporters who came up here. When we got here there were 30 or 50 fans waiting by the bus to applaud us inside and it makes such a difference."

Our run of form has created talk of reaching the top six, but Brian countered with a level head, "Nobody is talking about the play-offs. I just look at the next game. I'm not interested in anyone else's result, only ours. We were in the relegation zone not long ago and we've come a long way. [For people to talk about the play-offs] just shows the players have done fantastically well for the club."

Lastly, Brian said he will check on Ivar Ingimarsson, who came off in the 90th minute. "I think it's a hamstring, we'll wait and see on that. We'll have a look Sunday and Monday."

A full post-match video interview with Brian is online now on Reading FC Player - sign up for a free 14 day trial.