Reading manager Brian McDermott has stressed the importance of a strong squad following the recent absence of captain Jobi McAnuff.

McAnuff missed the Royals' Championship matches against Coventry and Derby after undergoing a minor hernia operation but returned in the 1-0 victory over Burnley on Friday night. And McDermott said such situations required players on the fringes of the first team to be able to step in seamlessly when called upon.

"Luke Anthony, our physio, said that if he (McAnuff) had that operation he would be back pretty soon, he would only miss a couple of games in February so we made that decision to do the operation," he said.

"We could have left it until March but you can see how many games we've got in March so he's missed a couple of games and that's why we talk about the squad.

"I talked about that in the dressing room afterwards with all the players. It's really difficult to pick football teams and it's difficult to leave players out and I do my best week in, week out to do that.

"I do think about the players who are not in the side as well and they are so, so important to us and they create the environment."