PAUL INCE: ‘THE FANS BELIEVE, WE BELIEVE’

READING FC interim manager Paul Ince hailed his sides ‘belief’ as they pulled off a magnificent comeback against Swansea City.

“The fans believe. We believe. I’m so proud of them today,” said Ince.

The Royals completed a sensational turnaround having been 4-1 down as Tom McIntye’s stoppage time goal grabbed a point to make it 4-4.

Despite gaining a point, Ince gave a refreshing assessment of his tactical approach to the game.

He said: “I think I got it wrong from a tactical point of view. We stood off them too much, we allowed a good team to lift their head and play passes.

“I hold my hands up for that, I got it totally wrong.

“We gave a stupid penalty away. I was thinking at half time the lads would be down but the spirit was still there.

There was still a belief we could get back in the game. they break away for their fourth and you start to think about goal difference.

“The last thing you want to do is get beat six or seven.

“There was a sense of belief around the stadium at 4-2. They started to wonder. Two goals are never enough.

“You sensed the belief in the crowd and the lift. We had a couple of great chances with Lucas and Junior and once we got the third goal, it was game on.”

Ince continued to remain coy on his future and wants to focus on the remaining games.

“It’s about bringing more fans into the stadium. They can go to work tomorrow with a smile on their face .

“It hasn’t changed. My job is to see this through.

“The lads have been amazing, I’m so proud of them but we are not there yet.

“I wont get carried away until the job is done.”

Ince was also full of praise for striker Lucas Joao.

He said: It’s all hands to the pump. In this situation, you can’t have any luxury players. I won’t allow that to happen. Lucas has upped his game from a workrate point of view and if you work hard, you get your luck and goals.

“We know what a great finisher he is. But when you’re fighting to stay in the league, you have to be accountable and responsible.

“When the players see him working as hard as he is, it inspires them to work more as well. That’s the message we’ve been getting across - changing the mindset and they’ve taken it on board really quickly.”