On Monday afternoon following our 2-0 defeat against Peterborough United, Poya Asbaghi spoke of his frustration for being unable to convert chances into goals.

The Reds dominated in terms of opportunities made and registered 11 attempts on target but were not able to find a way past Posh stopper David Cornell.

Asbaghi said, “We knew we needed to win this game,”

“I’m really disappointed with the result. Even with a win, it would be difficult, but we needed to give ourselves a shot at least, and we didn’t.

“It’s even more frustrating when you look at the game and performance overall. I cannot complain too much – I have not seen us create as many chances as I have in all the games since I have been here.

“We had 20 shots – 11 shots on target – and we scored zero. They had four shots on goal and scored two. We were not efficient when we needed to be the most, Peterborough were. They handled the pressure in the situation of a must win, in finishing situations they were more calm than us and ended up winning.”

The odds are skiing against Barnsley now with the space to safety at 11 points and just 12 available to play for.

Even winning at Huddersfield Town in the Yorkshire derby on Friday evening will not be enough if Reading secure three points against Hull City the following day.

He said, “It would be uphill even if we won [against Peterborough],”

“To be honest, it’s been uphill for a while, but we owe it to everyone to fight – even if we are mathematically out, we still owe it to fight.

“We owe it to the fans to fight and show some passion until the last second of the season. We owe it as professional players, and that’s what we need to do.”