Shrewsbury Town manager Gareth Ainsworth has praised Reading ahead of this evening’s match at the SCL Stadium, which is a local derby for the popular locals.
Ainsworth, best known for his decade as manager of Wycombe Wanderers, lives in the area and has frequently been touted as a potential Royals candidate whenever the position becomes vacant.
A popular figure in the game, Ainsworth took over the Shrews in November when they were bottom of League One.
Salop, who are typically difficult to beat, have won their previous two games, the first time in over two years, and are four points short of safety coming into their first encounter with the Royals this season.
“It’ll be challenging. They’re a fantastic team, and Rubén Sellés worked wonders with them. He had a youthful squad and was dealing with a variety of financial concerns in the background.
“I reside in the Reading region, and I know many Reading supporters who were dissatisfied with the club rather than the players or management.
“Noel Hunt has taken it on, and he has experience and some really excellent successes; they beat Bolton last week. They have some good players.
“We will have to change our style slightly to play against them, but I always look at the opposition and try to come up with a plan for what will work best for us on the day.”
Since their return to the third tier, Salop has been a thorn in the club’s side, winning both matches against Reading 3-2 previous season.
Infamously, Shrewsbury scored twice in stoppage time at Croud Meadow last November to overcome a deficit and win a dramatic game, leaving Ruben Selles’ team 10 points down at the bottom of League One.
However, 15 months later, Reading are only two points away from the play-offs and are hoping to improve as a run of home games approaches.
Ainsworth’s only success as a manager against the Royals came in 2021, when Wycombe triumphed 1-0 at Adams Park after Veljko Paunovic’s team missed a penalty and missed out on a play-off spot for 2020/21.
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