Kevin Blackwell turned his thoughts to Saturday's mouthwatering collision with Reading and insisted that both teams are right to have lofty ambitions:

The Royals in fourth place have a good goalscoring record whilst United are unbeaten at home, so the outcome could have a big bearing on their promotion credentials:

"The game is likely to be a benchmark for both teams to test where they are at this season. We could cancel each other out but I am hoping we get more than that.

"Both teams will think that this could be a Premiership game, but this is certainly a Premiership stadium and there will be a Premiership crowd.

"I think anyone who has ambitions of winning this league will have to finish above Reading, and I will be disappointed if we don't virtually sell out.

"It's third against fourth, they are good opposition and we are far enough into the season to know that this is an important game.

"It might be billed as a clash between James Beattie and Kevin Doyle but I don't think it is just about those two, it will be more about both teams performances and their ability to provide them with the service they need to win the game."