Kevin Dillon: Reading deserve to go down if we can't beat Derby

Reading assistant boss Kevin Dillon insists victory at rock-bottom Derby will be enough to keep the Royals in the Premier League.

The fate of Steve Coppell's side is out of their hands following Saturday's defeat by Tottenham and Fulham's win over Birmingham.

But Dillon reckons Reading will climb out of the bottom three by beating the worst team in Premier League history on Sunday when their relegation rivals have harder final-day fixtures.

"If we win at Derby, I honestly believe that we'll be OK," said the first-team coach. "That's not bravado - that's fact as far as I'm concerned. Let's put it this way, if we can't beat Derby, it will be hard to take.

"They've had a bad season. Paul Jewell has gone in there and had massive problems from the start, and they're going to have the lowest points in the top flight, lower than Sunderland. Pride Park must be a pretty dour place to play for their players.

"Last game of the season, we've got everything to play for. We've got our Premier League future at stake and we need to win.

"And I'd rather be going to Derby than Chelsea. I'd rather be us playing Derby than Fulham going to Portsmouth. And I'd rather be playing Derby than Birmingham, who have got Blackburn at home.

"Mark Hughes is a typical Alex Ferguson sibling, like Steve Bruce and Roy Keane, and it shows in the way they all manage."

But Dillon - the former Birmingham, Portsmouth and Newcastle midfielder - said he would not oversee a strenuous week of training at the Madjeski Stadium.

"What can we do?" he asked. "We'll give them a couple of days off.

"Technically, we can't improve them and physically, they are as fit as any team in the league. It's mental now, it's all upstairs.

"We've just got to get into them and make sure that they're relaxed, give them what they need, give them what they want and get them ready for Sunday."