Reading head coach Mark Bowen has claimed his side will enter each of their upcoming six to seven matches as favourites following their 3-1 victory over Wigan on the weekend.

George Puscas scored a five-minute hat-trick to help Bowen seal his fourth victory since taking over from Jose Gomes back in October, and the Reading boss is now backing his side for further success over the festive period.

The Berkshire-based outfit are currently sitting 18th in the Championship table following an improved run of form under Bowen's guidance, and their next encounter sees them face an out-of-form Birmingham side on Saturday.

The Royals will then be preparing for clashes with Barnsley, Stoke and Derby heading into the festive period before a challenging Christmas period where they will face QPR, Preston and Fulham.

Speaking to the Reading Twitter account, Bowen feels his side should enter these matches as favourites following their improved form, while he believes this period could define Reading's prospects for the remainder of the campaign.

"I’ve said to the guys going into the Wigan game that as for the next six or seven games, I make us favourites for all six or seven games,” he said.

“That might be putting extra pressure on the lads. When you’re playing home to Leeds is a case of nullifying them and seeing what we can get out of the game, but these games coming up now are massive for us. 

“By the time of the FA Cup game, we’ll have a real better understanding of how the rest of the season is going to be determined for us. It'll tell us whether we can be close enough to push for play-offs, or whether we’ll be languishing in middle to bottom half, or whether we’ll be in a relegation battle."

This is the first time Bowen has held the full-time permanent manager role at a club after only working as an assistant boss previously, but he has seen his side collect a solid total of 13 points from his seven games at the helm.

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The Verdict

There were understandably plenty of concerns when Bowen was appointed Reading boss back in October, but it would be fair to say he has exceeded expectations during his time in the role so far.

He has seen his side seal some crucial victories over the likes of Preston, Millwall and Wigan which would have given the players confidence ahead of a challenging festive period for the Madejski Stadium outfit.

Bowen's side will be gunning for successes over the relegation-threatened teams they will be facing in the coming weeks, and this could then see them pushing for the top half of the table by the turn of the year.