Brian McDermott has insisted that all his strikers will get a fair crack of the whip to prove they have what it takes to fire Reading out of the relegation zone.

Since taking over from Brendan Rodgers the former chief scout and Arsenal forward has chopped and changed his attacking duo, using all five fit strikers and giving them the chance to prove their worth to the team.

Wales international Simon Church has been rewarded with six starts from McDermott’s nine games in charge, with Shane Long and Grzegorz Rasiak both being given five.

Iceland international Gunnar Thorvaldsson has earned two starts and youngster Nicholas Bignall came off the bench for his Championship debut in the 1-0 win over Barnsley last Saturday.

But McDermott told the Post that he would always study his opposition closely before deciding on what combination will pose the biggest threat.

He said: “I don’t want to talk about first-choice or second-choice strikers, but I’ll look at each game as it comes and pick the best pairing to help us win it.”

Royals have found goals hard to come by this season and have only managed to hit the back of the net 28 times in 27 Championship appearances.

Only Swansea City and Plymouth Argyle have worse records than Royals with 23 goals.

Midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and Rasiak are joint top-scorers in the league with six apiece, followed by Church on four.

But after 22-year-old Long’s first Championship strike of the season in the victory over the Tykes, McDermott has backed the youngster to add to his tally.

“It’s good for Shane to get back on the score-sheet for us,” declared McDermott.

“He’s been working hard and we’ve also given him a few extra things to focus on during training in the last couple of weeks. He looks after himself and he’s a good lad.

“You have to remember that he didn’t start playing football until he was 14-years-old and to make it to the level he has in the game is fantastic.”

McDermott is likely to field an unchanged side this Saturday at Doncaster Rovers for the first time, with Long expected to partner Church.

He will also be able to call upon fit-again Czech Republic midfielder Marek Matejovsky, who may get a place on the bench at the Keepmoat after more than a month out with abdominal injury.

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