Johnson hails successive clean sheets

Third clean sheet in a row

“Yes it was desperate defending but they were always going to throw caution to the wind and I think even the fans were heading the ball off the line in the end and that’s what we needed. It was a team effort: staff, fans and players.

"The two centre-halves were outstanding in the last 10-15 minutes when a couple of times we gave the ball away cheaply which led to them having men in the box, runs of attacks and decent deliveries but we defended extremely well as a team."

Performance analysis

"We deserved the win. We played neat football in the first half without really penetrating, maybe Niclas (Eliasson) a couple of crosses.

"In the second half we could have scored a couple: balls flashed across the box two or three times and Fam (Diédhiou) is just a short distance away, you fancy Callum (O’Dowda) to smash it across the keeper into the top corner but in games like that, away from home and against a side with quality like Reading, you expect those tight moments."

An energetic and technical display

"I thought we started really well. In the first six/seven minutes we really pressed and took the game to them. There was a period afterwards where we gave (John) Swift a bit too much room and he was dictating play a bit, so we just managed to adjust that in time and we picked up again.

"For me that performance was energetic, technical with the goal and the way we created chances. It was tight but I’m delighted we are on the right end of it."

Building momentum

"The first starting point is three wins and clean sheets on the spin. That can build the momentum we need. If we get a punch on the nose, then we will have to accept it and go again. February will be a huge month for us and will go a long in determining where we end up."