Royals go down in flames to Dragons

ROYALS’ boss Rubén Sellés is still optimistic despite their first league defeat of the season which saw them go down 3-0 to Wrexham on Saturday.

With a full week to prepare for (tomorrow) Saturday’s home clash with Charlton Athletic, a reflective Sellés said there are still many aspects his players are learning and working on to improve.

And he believes the team will respond positively to the defeat at the hands of the Dragons.

Speaking after the match in North Wales, he said: “We knew it would be a difficult game when we came here. We prepared well and I think we controlled the game in the early stages.

“We should have defended better during the lead-up to their first goal. As a team, we didn’t manage that, and then we quickly conceded a second, which put us on the back foot. We went into half-time, tried to make some adjustments, but they scored their third goal almost immediately.

“From that point on, we never really recovered. It’s a lesson we need to learn as a team.

“Wrexham are a good side in League One. We need to absorb everything we learned today and make sure we don’t repeat
the same mistakes next weekend.

“I think we should have had more control, but this is something the team needs to improve on. A couple of weeks ago, we said we wouldn’t get carried away with positive results, and the same applies to negative ones. We learn from them and move forward.”

Sellés continued: “It’s always a challenge because we try to prepare for the game without letting the emotions of the previous match affect our week. Things happen, but the game is the game. We analyse the situations, offer solutions to our players, and envision a scenario where we can be competitive in the next match.

“We always enjoy playing at home, in front of our fans, in our stadium. It’s important for us to be competitive, and the opponent has started the season well. We are going to be competitive too and will do everything we can to give ourselves the best chance to win that game.”

The Noth Wales match saw the Royals backed by a sold out away end of just shy of 1,300 supporters who made the long trip to Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground.

Kick-off on Saturday at the Select Car Leasing Stadium is at 3pm.