Last Updated: Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:26
Reading midfielder Hope Akpan has admitted that he is quietly excited about the prospect of facing his old club Everton this weekend.
However, the 21-year-old has been quick to point out that he will be treating the game in exactly the same way as any other Premier League game.
Akpan knows he can't afford to let the occasion overshadow his and the team's main focus, which is to pick up as many points as possible between now and the end of the season to keep the Royals in the division.
The former Crawley man has made a decent start to his latest chance with a top-flight club following his January switch to the Madejski Stadium and he isn't about to take his foot off the gas now.
Akpan had previously dreamt of becoming a regular with Everton after joining the club as an eight-year-old, but that ambition was shattered when the Toffees released him in the summer 2011.
He said: "Going back to where I started my career from a young age is going to be exciting, definitely, but I'm a Reading player now and I want to do well for Reading.
"At the end of the day it is just another game so I've got to go out with the same mentality as I do every time I play.
"It is a massive game for Reading Football Club because, in the position we are, we need to get out of there and we need the points more than anything so I will put everything to one side and concentrate on getting a result for Reading."
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