Shaun Goater's Reading enter their final league game tomorrow knowing that a play-off spot isn't much more than a mathematical possibility.

First things first, the Royals need to see off Watford at Vicarage Road to give themselves a chance of that lucrative top six sport, but even with a win, Steve Coppell's men need three other matches to go their way to avoid their season being over by 4.45 p.m. English time.

Goater and his team-mates need to secure their third consecutive victory - something they are yet to achieve this season - and then hope that Wigan fail to beat West Ham, Sheffield United fail to beat Preston and Ipswich lose at home to Cardiff.

And for Goater, tomorrow's game brings back memories of 1998, when his then team Manchester City beat Stoke 5-2 but courtesy of victories for Portsmoth and Port Vale, City were sent down to Division Two.

“Other results didn't go for us and even today these sorts of games are the ones that fans remember,” said the Goat ahead of the vital clash against a somewhat erratic Watford outfit.

“It's natural. It all comes down to one game, such as that Stoke game, where we won but other results didn't go our way.

“When you are at school you dream of scoring a goal in the last minute of these games. And now Reading are in one of these situations where we have to win and hope results go for us.

“There is a general feeling among the players that we can get into the play-offs. But no one is speaking about it either way because sometimes you feel confident about something, you don't always voice it.”

After a period out of the Reading side immediately following his triumphant return to the international scene with a brace again Nicaragua in Bermuda, the 34-year-old striker is now back in the starting line-up at the Madejski Stadium.

“I'm always pleased to be playing,” he added.

“It could be a good chance to get in the play-offs and one game that every player wants to play in.

“I feel these are the one that you remember as a player. Throughout the season you want to be playing, but when the season finishes, these type of games are the ones you wanted to be involved in.”

Goater is expected to take up to ten days off when the season does finish, whether it is this weekend or after the play-offs, before returning to Bermuda to join his team-mates ahead of next month's two-legged clashes with El Salvador in the World Cup qualifying campaign.