Reading coach James Oliver-Pearce has called on his players to keep up their performance standards of recent weeks as Wigan Athletic look to visit Berkshire on Saturday.
With one win in five, but also just one defeat in five, the Royals have edged towards safety and are now four points adrift heading into the hectic festive period.
The Latics, currently sat 17th, are the first of three key fixtures with relegation rivals to do battle in the coming weeks with Cheltenham Town and Exeter City visiting between now and New Year's Day.
Oliver-Pearce spoke to the media after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Lincoln City, following Ruben Selles' red card midway through the second half, and has urged his players to keep up their performance levels during a critical time in the season.
"We’ve played three teams in and around the play-offs: Barnsley, Oxford and Lincoln. Against Barnsley, for long periods, we were the better team and created chances. Against Oxford we had a really good first half and they got control in the second half. Today, I thought there was a longer period that we controlled the game for. A
"All we have to do is keep focussing on doing the right things as often as possible- if you do that then results should go in your favour."
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