Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann has attempted to fire up his team, saying that they need to continue showing the kind of effort that was displayed against Everton in their 1-0 loss at Goodison Park on Saturday to survive the relegation battle.

The Royals have lost seven straight Premiership matches and Hahnemann, who first joined Reading on loan in 2001 until being bought by the club in 2002, knows it will be a battle to avoid the dreaded bottom three.

"If we played every game like we did against Everton, we wouldn't be in 18th," Hahnemann told BBC. That's the bottom line. Now, we'll have some extra pressure on us and we'll find out who has the balls to handle it."

Hahnemann does not believe the Royals should change anything tactically, but has stated that the team's mentality is all wrong.

"It shouldn't change what we've been doing," he added. "We haven't had the best results. It was a good performance against Everton. It's just that they scored the goal - it was a bit unlucky."

Reading is hoping to stay in the top flight of English soccer after finishing a surprising eighth in the table last season, their first in the top flight of English soccer.

They have been a two-faced club, posting a 6-1-6 record at Madejski Stadium compared to their 0-3-10 record away from home. Reading is one of four Premier league clubs to be winless on the road this season.

Although they have allowed the second most goals in the league (53), the bad form cannot be blamed solely on the defense. Since a 6-4 loss to Spurs kicked off the streak, the Royals have only scored once in six matches.

Reading's next match is at home against Aston Villa on February 24th.