Reading full-back Chris Gunter has admitted that he and his teammates must continue to "work hard" if they are to end their recent winless run.

The Royals have failed to pick up maximum points in any of their last five outings, which has seen them fall off the pace in the hunt for promotion.

Defeat at Cardiff City on Saturday provided Reading with their latest setback, but Gunter is adamant that his side can get their campaign back on track following the latest international break.

"It's a tough run at the minute," he told the club's official website. "We're in a run where we're not playing fantastic, but I don't think we're playing really poorly. Sometimes when you're in a little bad run, those rebounds and the bounce of the ball don't go for you. There's only one way to turn that around, and that's to work hard.

"Everyone is obviously really happy when we're on a good run and over the course of a 46-game season you have to be realistic and know that you're going to go through little runs when things aren't going for you. That's when you need everyone to stick their chests out and work hard to get out of it.

"You're not going to go every week and play fantastic and have everything fall your way; we want to be successful come the end of the season, and the teams that are - especially in this league - are the ones that can work through these runs and come out stronger on the other side. The sooner you can do that, the better."

Gunter will return to the Cardiff City Stadium later this week to represent Wales against the Netherlands in an international friendly.