Marcus Hahnemann told the Reading Evening Post this week that he plans on Reading having a short stay in the Championship. The American keeper acknowledged the tough time the Royals had last year against the bigger clubs but believes they can earn their way back to the Premiership this season.
Reflecting on last season, he remarked that: “When you play against the big boys you are basically playing on the counter-attack, mainly trying to defend like crazy. We had such a crazy year where we were killed, where we were demolished in a couple of games – and sometimes it’s hard to get your head around that.”
But this year, he knows it is different: “Now everyone’s going to be gunning for us, which will bring a different set of pressures. Players aren’t as skillful and not as fast as in the Premiership so everything becomes more of a fight.”
On the Royals' chances for this season, Hahnemann offered that: “Hopefully, this year we will have a speed advantage and a strength and squad size advantage – something we were lacking last year. It’s going to be a lot harder to get up for the games this season. That’s probably going to be the biggest hurdle we are going to have to get over. Attitude is going to play such a key role this year. Hopefully we can repeat what we managed to achieve a few years ago."
Hahnemann will be facing a new challenge for the number one keeper spot this year with the from 23-year-old Australian international Adam Federici. Federici is expected to play for Australia at the Olympics in August and will therefore miss Reading's preseason training.
Reading's other American, midfielder Bobby Convey, appears to be on the mend after going the distance in Saturday's preseason romp over Didcot Town 9-0. Convey scored the sixth goal and set up the seventh for the Royals in their win over the part-timers.
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