Jack Marriott is the most prolific striker in League One this season, and Reading manager Leam Richardson believes the 32-year-old is only going to get sharper. With eight goals from six league matches, Marriott is averaging a goal every 55 minutes, a figure that puts him three clear of his nearest rivals in the division despite having played one game fewer than most of them.

That rate of scoring, roughly one goal per hour of football, is the kind of number that tends to flatter a hot streak rather than describe a reliable output. Yet Richardson's words suggest this is less a purple patch than the product of deliberate, daily graft with first-team coach James Beattie, the former England striker who joined the Reading backroom staff ahead of this campaign.

Beattie's influence on the training ground

"He's working really hard and really well with James Beattie through the day on individual moments within the game," Richardson said. "You can see the dividends and that it's paying off. If we can get him down to a goal every 40 minutes, that'd be really pleasing."

The phrase "individual moments within the game" is significant. Coaches who work with forwards in dedicated one-to-one sessions typically focus on positioning before the ball arrives: runs in behind, timing of movement across the near post, and the ability to manufacture half a yard in tight spaces. The idea is to cut out the hesitation that costs a striker a fraction of a second and, with it, a goal. Marriott's numbers this season suggest those sessions are translating directly from the training pitch to matchdays.

Richardson was at pains to point out that Marriott does not operate in isolation. He praised forwards Jamie Reid and Jacob Brown in the same breath, describing the competition for starting places as "everything" for maintaining collective standards. "It keeps everybody at a really high level," the Reading manager said, a reminder that depth in the attacking third is often what separates promotion contenders from also-rans in the third tier.

The view from the table

Reading currently sit ninth, but Richardson has made clear that a win on Saturday could lift his side as high as third. That context matters: the gap between the top six and the chasing pack in League One tends to be slim in September, and a run of results in either direction can shift a club's trajectory for months.

The next fixture takes Reading to Wycombe Wanderers, a side sitting a point below them having won their last two league matches under interim manager Tom Hounsell, who stepped in when Michael Duff left on 8 September. Richardson warned his players that Wycombe have "really good individual players" and recruited well, calling it "a challenge we'll really relish."

The tie carries an extra subplot: Wycombe's forward line includes Jayden Wareham, a former Reading player. Richardson spoke warmly of the 22-year-old before adding, with a smile audible in the transcript, that he hoped Wareham would "not score any goals and not play very well." It is the kind of remark that signals a manager is relaxed heading into a match his side genuinely expect to win something from.

What it means for Reading's season

For Reading supporters, the Marriott story carries a broader significance. The club dropped into League One and have been rebuilding under Richardson, whose priority has been creating a structure that the whole squad believes in. A striker averaging a goal better than every hour of football is the most visible sign of that structure working, but the manager's comments about Reid, Brown and the broader competitive environment hint at something more durable than one man's hot streak.

Whether Marriott can sustain this rate over a full 46-game season is a question no one can answer in late September. What is already clear is that no striker in the division is currently making a better case for being the difference-maker in a promotion push. Richardson's job now is to keep feeding him the service and the confidence to prove the numbers right.

Frequently asked

How many goals has Jack Marriott scored for Reading this season?
Marriott has scored eight goals in six League One matches for Reading this season, giving him a rate of one goal every 55 minutes, the best in the division.
Who is James Beattie and what is his role at Reading?
James Beattie is a former England striker who works as a first-team coach at Reading. Manager Leam Richardson has credited Beattie's individual sessions with Marriott for the striker's impressive goal record this season.
Where are Reading in the League One table?
Reading are currently ninth in League One, but manager Leam Richardson has said a win in their next fixture could lift them as high as third in the table.