Ruben Selles wants his Reading side to take cup form into league battle
- Published
Royals boss Ruben Selles has overseen five wins in six cup matches this season
Ruben Selles hopes his Reading side's cup form can be a catalyst for them to climb from the foot of League One.
The Royals trounced an Arsenal Under-21 side including Reiss Nelson and Fabio Viera 5-2 to finish top of their EFL Trophy group on Tuesday night.
Reading scored more goals and had a better goal difference than any of the 64 teams in the EFL Trophy group phase.
Selles told BBC Radio Berkshire: "Hopefully we can sustain our results and our performance in the league."
Reading have scored 19 goals and conceded just twice in three group games in the Trophy.
They thrashed Championship Millwall 4-0 in the EFL Cup before a penalty shootout exit to Ipswich and they have booked a clash with non-league Eastleigh in the FA Cup second round after victory over MK Dons.
Selles said: "We have a lot of young and talented players. They are using their opportunities in the cup, some are helping us already in League One. We know they can be really good.
"Hopefully, we can sustain this and start to get more points in the league. It's a different competition. We have the feeling we can be more free in the cup, as we are showing. We need to be able to translate these things into positive things for League One."
The Royals are without a game this weekend due to the international break but, though he's given his players a weekend off, he admits it's been hard to escape the pressures of their poor start to the season.
Saturday's injury-time capitulation at Shrewsbury was their 11th straight away defeat and 20th without a win and Selles said: "It was tough, we analysed it, we are working on things we can do better.
"Unfortunately, with the results and all the extra situations we are having over the last five months it's not easy to relax or switch off."
Selles added he has however decided to "switch off" from the protracted talks over a takeover of the club, adding: "It was consuming a lot of time for me. When it happens, it will happen. I need to be able to focus on the football side."