Dale stirred by history
Mendes makes up for lost time
BRIGHTON midfielder Dale Stephens wants his team-mates to be history boys today.
Victory over Wigan this afternoon would effectively seal promotion to the Premier League after 34 years outside the top flight.
Promotion would come 20 years after the Seagulls were effectively left homeless by the sale of the Goldstone Ground. They ground-shared with Gillingham for two seasons and spent more than a decade at the Withdean Stadium, a converted athletics venue, before moving to the Amex Stadium.
They hope to host a promotion party at their new home today. “We get told about it a lot,” said Stephens. “I played against Brighton at the Withdean for Oldham so I know a bit about the history.
“We are reminded about it by the fans and everyone wants us to take this group of players to the next level. If we do, it will be a massive achievement for everyone. It will go down in the history of the football club and I’ll be proud to be a part of it.”
Mathematically Chris Hughton’s men READING striker Joseph Mendes has had to wait for his Championship chance – now their two-goal hero is keen to make the most of it by shooting them into the Premier League.
The Frenchman’s match-winning brace on his full league debut on Saturday came nine months after he signed for Reading from Le Havre. The 26-year-old will hope to get another chance to impress at home to rock-bottom Rotherham today. “It still need four points to clinch promotion but victory against the Latics would surely seal it due to their huge goal difference advantage over third-placed Huddersfield.
A win would get the Brighton party started before the Terriers kick off at Derby at 5pm but Stephens says they are taking nothing for granted.
“This league is so unpredictable, it can certainly bite you,” he said. “We just look at the next game but we have put ourselves in a really good position.
“The manager is never too high but he gets his point across when we don’t do the job. He has kept his feet on the ground and we have been in a good position throughout the season.
“He has kept us focused on our main target, which has been getting promotion. He is a very good manager, he is proven at this level and hopefully he can get an opportunity to do the job in the Premier League.”
ASTON VILLA READING
has been difficult for me because I had a lot of injuries,” he said.
“The fans have been patient with me and hopefully I will score a lot of goals now.”
On-loan Bournemouth striker Lewis Grabban opened his own Reading account with a penalty.
Villa captain James Chester had cancelled out Mendes’s opener.