Reading have had a rather inconsistent season, however, they do find themselves 13 points better off than they were at this stage in the last campaign.

Mark Bowen has guided the Royals into 15th, which should keep them away from any threat of relegation as they begin to look up rather than down in the final 13 league fixtures.

Here are THREE mistakes that Reading and Bowen can't afford to repeat in the season run-in...

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Sloppy home performances

This is one of the key problems that the Royals have had and will need to improve on over the final few months of the season. In the home form table for the current campaign, Reading are 21st and have picked up just 20 points from 16 home league matches.

Whereas, the away form shows that they can compete in this division. The Royals have picked up 22 of their points away from the Madejski Stadium this season and sit in eighth place in the away league table. It's an interesting comparison and a problem that Bowen will hope to rectify.

Fiddling around with a successful formula in central defence

This is vital for Reading and imperative if they're going to continue to be picking up results until the end of the campaign. Michael Morrison and Liam Moore have formed a very good partnership at the back and it would be foolish to change it.

At times, Bowen likes to play with three centre-halves in order to play with two strikers at the end of the pitch. That move has made the Royals look less assertive when defending and causes more problems than it solves. It's key for the centre-backs to keep playing in the same system and keep developing as a partnership.

Leaving George Puscas out

This is a mistake that cannot be made again. The Royals were lacklustre in front of goal for a period after Lucas Joao picked up an injury at Fulham. Bowen didn't put in Puscas to the side but instead opted for Sam Baldock and Yakou Meite.

Now, he's put the Romanian in the starting XI and he's netted twice in as many games. It's vital that he continues to play the striker especially when he's in this sort of form as he will only grow in confidence and score more goals for Reading moving forward.