Reading full-back Haydon Roberts has called on the Royals to tighten up their away performances if they are to turn a promising start into a genuine promotion push in League One this season.

Saturday's 2-0 victory over Notts County at the Select Car Leasing Stadium was Reading's third successive home league win, lifting them to eighth in the table with 10 points. They sit just one point outside the top six, but their away record tells a different story: no wins in two matches on the road.

"At home we look really strong," Roberts told BBC Radio Berkshire. "Away, we just need to tidy a few things up. We have a chance, whether that's to do what we set out to do, to get promoted. We'll keep building, but I think we look really strong. We can't get carried away just because we beat Notts County 2-0 at home. We have to then do it away at Wycombe. It's just consistency."

A squad built to go the distance

Reading's 14 goals scored in League One is the second-highest tally in the division so far, behind only Stockport County's 16. That firepower owes much to a well-stocked forward line. Jack Marriott has been joined this summer by Jacob Brown, signed from Luton Town, and Jamie Reid, who netted 57 goals in 211 appearances for Stevenage. Roberts made clear how valuable that depth is.

"All three of those strikers would start at other clubs in this division," he said. "And we're grateful to have all three of them. They're all very different, so we're very lucky to have them."

In midfield, Zimbabwe international Andy Rinomhota is fully fit after missing time last campaign, and has been central to Reading's bright beginning. George Earthy, who joined in the summer from West Ham, is also catching the eye. Those two provide the platform from which the attack operates.

Learning from last season's collapse

The warning signs from last term are not lost on the squad. Reading were in play-off contention as the 2024-25 season entered its final stretch but failed to win any of their last six league matches, losing four of them, and eventually finished 12th. It was a painful slide that the club is determined not to repeat.

Roberts himself arrived at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on a January transfer in that campaign, joining from Bristol City where he had made 73 appearances over three years. A knock at the start of this season limited his early involvement, but the 24-year-old says he is now ready to stake a regular claim.

"I'm feeling great in terms of my previous niggle," he said. "Probably not physically at my best yet. But for this manager and this squad I'd give anything. I'm so grateful, he gave me this opportunity that I've been dying for. To be available, I'd put my body on the line for him."

The road test at Wycombe

The next opportunity to address that away-form concern comes on Saturday, when Reading travel to face Wycombe. It is exactly the kind of match that will show whether this squad has the resilience to sustain a promotion challenge across a full third-tier season, rather than fade when the days shorten.

The ingredients are certainly there. Goals, depth, a fit Rinomhota and a full-back in Roberts who is visibly hungry. Whether they can carry the authority they show at home into hostile away grounds is the question that will define their season.

Frequently asked

Where are Reading in the League One table?
Reading are eighth in League One with 10 points, one point outside the top six, after six league games.
How many goals have Reading scored in League One this season?
Reading have scored 14 League One goals, the second-highest total in the division behind Stockport County's 16.
Who is Haydon Roberts and where did he join Reading from?
Haydon Roberts is a 24-year-old full-back who joined Reading on a January transfer from Bristol City, where he made 73 appearances over three years.