Reading boss Jaap Stam pleased with this new partnership in his side

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Reading manager Jaap Stam has spoken in glowing terms of his new strike partnership.

Reading’s Dominic Samuel in action with Arsenal’s Rob Holding

Reading manager Jaap Stam has indicated, in an interview with the club’s official website, that he is very happy with the job his strikers are doing at present after the fledgling partnership of Dominic Samuel and Garath McCleary worked well against Burton Albion.

The Royals won 3-0 at the weekend and striker Samuel bagged his first goal for the club when he opened the scoring 22 minutes into the first half. The fluid and mobile front two caused problems for Burton all afternoon as Reading romped home comfortably.

Regular first-team striker Yann Kermorgant had been ruled out of the fixture through injury and therefore it gave Stam an opportunity to test out something new for his side and, given the results, he is unsurprisingly full of praise for both McCleary and Samuel.

Speaking to the Royals’ official club website, Stam said: “We need out strikers or forwards to work hard, not only going forward, but also off the ball. Dom and Gareth McCleary did that and chased the Burton centre-backs. They did well to not give them time on the ball. That was really tiring for them and worked well.

“We’re always looking at how we can hurt an opposition, how we can gain control and how we can be a threat and a danger going forward. In how we play and the system that we play we are always looking for that balance in the team that you can put on the pitch.”

Reading manager Jaap Stam

It’s unclear when Kermorgant is expected back, however it’s probable that Stam will want to continue with the new strike partnership he has forged due to it being something of an unknown quantity in the Championship.

Reading’s Yann Kermorgant

And the Dutchman will be hoping Samuel and McCleary can continue to dovetail well in the coming games, during which time the Royals will face fellow play-off hopefuls Fulham and Bristol City.