Paul Ince calls for ruthless streak from leaders Reading after win at Millwall

Boss Paul Ince claimed the only disappointment in Reading’s 1-0 win against Millwall at The Den was his side’s inability to win by a bigger margin.

Ince saw his side secure a hard-fought victory, their third in succession, which took them to the top of the Championship.

Debutant Naby Sarr’s first-half header was enough to separate the teams in an intriguing tussle in the capital.

Ince’s men have surprised many onlookers with their start to the campaign, having narrowly avoided relegation last season, but controlled the majority of the contest and were good value for the win.

They could even have left with a larger margin of victory had Jeff Hendrick and Shane Long converted gilt-edged chances.

Despite his buoyant mood at his team’s display, Ince highlighted a couple of areas for improvement.

He said: “I said to the lads afterwards that I’m disappointed in the fact we didn’t put the game to bed and that’s the lesson learned.

“In other words, you win two or three-nil, game over, we all sit back.

“But in the last five or 10 minutes, they’re throwing balls into our box that could go anywhere.

“It’s a lottery then, isn’t it?

“If you come away with a draw, [that] would have been devastating because we deserved to win the game by two or three.”

On his side’s lofty position in the table, Ince added: “I think it’s great the fans can say that.

“We struggled to stay in the league last year and I think Reading fans, who again came in droves to come and support us, never envisaged that after six games we’d be top of the table.

“So give them that, let them enjoy that moment and hopefully that may last a long, long time, but let them enjoy.

“It’s something for them, for the support they’ve given us over the last six months I’ve been