Reading boss Noel Hunt is asking his squad to 'enjoy' the pressure of challenging for promotion heading into the final 13 League One matches.
Winning 2-1 at Wigan Athletic on Saturday, a sixth match without defeat, only three points separates the Royals and a play-off spot.
Already earning more points at this stage than they achieved last year, Reading last finished in the top half of any division during the 2020/21 Championship season, with Andy Yiadom the only remaining player in the squad.
For a young and inexperienced squad used to fighting relegation, Hunt is wanting his squad to thrive on being the 'surprise package' of the season.
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Winning the Championship with Reading in 2012, the former Republic of Ireland international finished outside the top half of a league just once with Reading, the 2012/13 Premier League campaign.
"We look forward to every game, they’re all big games now," Hunt said ahead of tonight's clash with Exeter City. "Where we are, you have to enjoy this pressure. We haven’t had this pressure for a little while at the club in terms of being at the right end of the table.
"I keep saying to the guys, we are the surprise package. Nobody expected us to be here, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing in our style, imposing ourselves on games and taking it game by game. We don’t get carried away; we stay focused."
The Royals beat Exeter City 2-1 at St James Park in October, the first away win of the season.
