Reading left-back Nicky Shorey has insisted that he and his teammates need to "man up" in order to pull themselves out of a relegation battle.

The Royals currently sit second from bottom in the Premier League table and are in danger of dropping back into the Championship after achieving promotion last season.

"It concerns me a lot," said Shorey. "There is not a lot else you can say. We've got to man up and make sure our performances get to the level they need to be because they haven't been."

Reading take on fellow struggling side Sunderland this evening.