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Little expecting a battle Royal-e
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| Glen Little |
GLEN Little expects Reading to face a rough ride from Clarets new-boy Ade Akinbiyi in tomorrow's FA Cup clash.
Striker Akinbiyi is poised to go straight into Burnley's attack as they make a third round trip to the Madejski Stadium.
He arrived back at Turf Moor in a £750,000 New Year's Day swoop from Sheffield United, less than a year after joining the Blades from East Lancashire.
It is anticipated that Akinbiyi will line up alongside Gifton Noel-Williams as the Clarets look to stage a shock against a side currently ninth in the Premiership, although the powerful striker could be selected in a lone-striker role.
Either way, former Burnley midfielder Little, now one of Reading's leading lights, believes Akinbiyi will set out to make life uncomfortable for the Royals on his debut.
"Ade Akinbiyi has shown before at Burnley that he is a very good player," said Little, who made over 280 Clarets appearances before joining Reading in the summer of 2004.
"It's been a really tough time for them, especially since Andy Gray has been injured. He's a big loss to them and they have not won without him.
"But signing Ade will give them a boost. It was a great bit of business bringing him back for less than they sold him.
"They need a centre-forward like him with Gray out at the moment. He has shown before that he can score goals in that division. When they get Gray back, that could be a very good partnership."
Little added: "We've played against Akinbiyi in the last couple of seasons, against Burnley and Sheffield United, so we know what we are going to be up against.
"He's going to make life difficult for our defenders and put them under pressure.
"A few of the players we pick tomorrow may not have played that much, so he will be looking to rough them up."
Royals boss Steve Coppell is expected to rest a number of regular first-team players from the side that thrashed West Ham 6-0 last Saturday, following four league games in nine days.
Wholesale changes were made for their Carling Cup ties against Darlington and Liverpool earlier this season, and with Premiership survival the priority for the ambitious Berkshire outfit, Coppell could follow suit.
Despite the likely changes, winger Little is hoping to keep his place to face his former employers and reckons Burnley will present a stern challenge .
"Fingers crossed I can play tomorrow," said the 31-year-old Londoner.
"In an ideal world, I would love to play against Burnley but I don't know what the gaffer is thinking.
"We've had a tough Christmas period where we've really worked our socks off. I would not be surprised if he wanted to make a few changes.
"But even though he might make changes, he will still expect us to win.
"We showed that against Darlington in the Carling Cup and against Liverpool when we lost 4-3. It was a great night of football and we could have won."
He added: "Burnley are a Championship club coming to a Premiership club. They've played well for most of the season and we know they will be well prepared and well drilled.
"If we do make changes, players who have not played for about two or three months will be thrown in together and that can be difficult.
"I only know a couple of the lads at Burnley now, like Graham Branch.
"A new manager has come in since and brought in new faces.
"They've just fallen away from the play-offs but they've strengthened the squad with Ade Akinbiyi. It will be tough and we know Burnley have got nothing to lose."
Known for running at defenders and his expert crossing ability, Little's talents were widely regarded as one of the reasons behind Reading's promotion to the Premiership at the end of last season.
He has fulfilled a dream in reaching football's top flight and, at the moment, Little is enjoying every minute.
He said: "It's great playing against teams and players that I've never faced before.
"We recently went to Stamford Bridge and four days later to Old Trafford. It was my 100th appearance for Reading, so that was special.
"It's so much more demanding than the Championship.
"Last season, we could play for 20 minutes and be two goals up and then let the foot off the pedal a little bit. We would be in cruise control.
"But we cannot let up for 90 minutes in the Premiership because if you let your standards slip for just one second, you can get punished.
"We can cope with the demands because we've got a young, fit team but for older statesmen like me, it can be tough!
"We know there will be ups and downs this season, but so far it's gone pretty well."
* You can also listen to Glen Little's interview - click here.
10:07am Friday 5th January 2007
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