McDermott Comes Clean On Federici

18 September 2012
By Hob Nob Anyone?

Brian McDermott has now admitted that Federici was dropped on Sunday, giving Alex McCarthy a start in goal, due to poor form. The club were originally keen to protect the player with the story that he was unable to play due to injury, despite wide speculation that it was a simple change of personnel from the Reading boss. Speaking after Sunday's 1-3 defeat to Spurs McDermott reiterated, rather unconvincingly, that Federici was being given a rest due to a knee injury. That story has now been updated with the simple fact that McDermott wanted to try a different player in goal after Federici's shaky start to the season.

Speaking to the BBC McDermott said: "I really like Adam and he works very hard but things have not gone his way, so Alex has come into the team... The fact of the matter is, I spoke to Adam on Saturday and I made a decision that Alex McCarthy was going to play in the game on Sunday... No player at the club is in a position that means they will play every week... Adam Federici has done fantastically well for me and I know him really well, but he is no different to a full-back or centre-half or striker."

McCarthy made some good saves at the weekend but also nearly gifted Spurs another goal when he tapped the ball forward inside his area to Defoe. He also let in three goals - although it would be unfair to blame him for that as Reading were entirely overrun throughout the game. McCarthy will start again on Saturday as the Royals travel to West Brom for their fourth Premier League game of the season. After that it's QPR in the League Cup - and perhaps a chance for Federici to return to action and win back his starting place. There's no doubt that Federici is an outstanding goalkeeper and very dedicated member of the squad, so it would be no surprise to see him back in action soon.

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