Reading have improved massively under Mark Bowen.

There's no doubting that. He took over a side that looked all-but destined for relegation to League One, and now has them eyeing-up a top-half finish.

The Royals' fine festive form saw them up into the mid-table echelons of the Championship, but results took a hit through January, and their 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday last time out was their first in the league since New Year's Day.

Some players have struggled for form throughout the season, not only of late, and here we take a look at two Reading players who need to up their game before now and the end of the campaign:

George Puscas

Reading's record signing has been no stranger to criticism this season. Arriving for almost £8 million from Inter Milan in the summer, the Romanian international has so far scored eight Championship goals in 26 games.

Despite scoring in his last two, Puscas has far from proved his worth, and the goals need to keep on coming in before fans start to realise his potential, which he does have - a five-minute hat-trick v Wigan earlier in the season was everything that's good about the forward.

There's plenty of games left to play and plenty of time for Puscas to win over some fans. He's split opinion like no other Reading player but if he were to nab a few more goals this season, and take his tally up to 12/13, then who could argue with that return in a debut season?

Everyone would love to see him fulfil his potential and make up the money spent on him, but it's a lot of pressure on a still-young player, and a bit of patience is necessary.

Sone Aluko

Second to Puscas in Reading's all-time record signings is Sone Aluko. Acquired from Fulham in 2017, the Nigerian has been an undeniable flop at Reading, boasting a record of four goals in 60 games for the club.

The first-half of the season was spent on-loan at Beijing Renhe and with a record of 3 goals in 16 appearances, few thought that he'd be anywhere near Bowen's first-team upon his return.

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Though to the shock of many, Aluko has made a handful of appearances and even started a couple of games in the FA Cup. It was after Reading's extra-time game with Cardiff at the start of the month that fans saw the player they signed from Fulham all those months ago, and it looked like he could be back to his best.

But the hype was short-live and Aluko has been left out of the last two games - he needs to take his chance if one comes his way this season, or he'll likely be on his way in the summer.