PAVEL Pogrebnyak insists he is fully committed to the Reading FC cause after putting his transfer saga behind him.

The 29-year-old Russian was expected to leave in the summer transfer window following Reading’s relegation from the Premier League.

The ex-Stuttgart and Zenit St.Petersburg ace looked like he would move back to his homeland and was linked with a string of top-flight clubs.

But the former Fulham loan striker failed to engineer a move and now has his sights set on firing Royals to promotion.

Pogrebnyak, who has scored two goals in eight Reading appearances this season, said: “I don’t make a secret of it that I was waiting for a change to come.

“I couldn’t accept that I would play in a lower division. It had an affect on my mood, but now I’m fully devoted to Reading.

“I do want to believe that we can go back to the Premier League after this season.

“After the transfer period, I told our manager that I’m ready to fight for the team and I started to work at the maximum, it’s the most important thing. Football is 90 per cent what you do in training and only 10 per cent playing.”

Reading return from a two week international break this Saturday when they host Doncaster Rovers at Madejski Stadium (3pm ko).

Nigel Adkins’ Royals saw a six-match unbeaten run come to an end in their last league fixture when they were beaten 2-1 at leaders Burnley.

However, Reading currently sit seventh in the Championship and seven points off the top with some winnable games ahead.

Pogrebnyak also told Russian website Sovsport.ru.: “The Championship is about fight, power and physicality. Of course, they play smarter football in the Premier League. There, you can see a more unexpected pass or play, but the Championship is also a serious league.

“Honestly, I also under-rated it until I played some games. It’s so difficult to play here that I can’t express it with words.

“All teams can defend well and play very clever tactics. That’s why the final result is regularly 1-0 or 0-0.

“Here, it’s very important to score the first goal, so in that case you can play on the counter-attack. It’s difficult when you’re losing.

“It’s not a shame to play in the Championship after the Premier League.

“Before the season, some people said that {Emmanuel} Adebayor or {Jermain} Defoe were close to joining this league.”