Paul Ince says 'revenge is not on his mind' ahead of Sunderland clash

Paul Ince says Reading will not be out for ‘revenge’ against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, and he knows just how tough a game the fans will make it for his team.

Sunderland can complete a league double over the Royals on Saturday, and another bumper crowd is expected on Wearside to roar on Tony Mowbray’s side.

It will be Reading’s first chance to avenge the real humbling Sunderland dished out to them earlier in the season, although Ince says that is not a mindset he is allowing himself going into the game.

"It's going to be a tough game for us in-front of 38 to 40 thousand fans and with that crowd behind them it is going to be tough,” Ince said ahead of the game.

"Revenge is never on my mind, it's not a word I like to use, but we have to perform a lot better than we did last time at home."

Sunderland put in one of their best performances of the season when the two sides met at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Three goals, each one brilliant in their own right, gave the Black Cats a 3-0 win in Berkshire, but Ince says his side will be much better prepared this time.

"In my opinion, that's goal of the season already" 🔥

Safe to say the Soccer Saturday panel enjoyed Sunderland's goal against Reading 😅 pic.twitter.com/Hd3R7j9ACq
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 17, 2022

"We lost to Sunderland last time for two reasons and one was my fault", Ince told BBC Radio Berkshire.

"We played five in midfield but we weren't going anywhere so I went to a four and that's when we conceded. I take full responsibility for that - that was my cock up."

"Last time, I think it was a game that if we had won we would have gone top of the table and you could sense the nervousness in the players and we didn't really perform," he said.

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