Lita looks for regular place
Leroy Lita is hoping success in the Premiership with Reading can make him a regular in the England U21 side.
So far, the 21-year-old has been capped just twice, mainly because coach Peter Taylor has plenty of other strikers to choose from.
Cameron Jerome, Luke Moore, Izale McLeod and David Nugent are all battling for places in the starting line-up but none is yet a regular in the top flight.
And that is exactly what Lita intends to become as soon as possible.
He said: “I’m still eligible for the U21s and was in the last squad. There is another game next month but I have to make sure I am doing it for my club.
“I played in the last game, which was at Reading. There are too many of us up front though, that’s the problem.”
The U21s begin their European Championship qualification campaign against Moldova at Portman Road on August 15, four days before Reading make their Premiership debut at home to Middlesbrough.
Lita, who scored on his U21 debut while at previous club Bristol City, had featured as a second-half substitute in the most recent game, a 3-1 win over Norway at the Madejski Stadium.
The fans there had already grown accustomed to seeing him find the net following his £1m (€1.46m) move from the Robins at the start of last season.
His 11 goals helped the Royals romp to the Championship title, but Lita, who missed the run-in because of a broken ankle, insisted their progress had not been as easy as it had looked.
“We didn’t walk the league at all last season,” he said. “We worked very hard and to do what we did takes a lot.
“And it will take a lot more to do well in the Premiership. Sunderland went up as champions and weren’t the best last season but we are not looking to copy them. We are looking to get ourselves sharp and ready and when we do get out there perform to our best.
“We all believe in ourselves and we have a great squad of young players with a few senior lads, which you need. We all believe we can do well but we can’t keep talking about it. We have to make sure we are ready.
“All the lads played well last season but we have to forget about that now. It’s history and we have got to look forward to the start of this season.”
