Npower Championship - Reading v Cardiff City
Venue: Madejski Stadium Date: Wednesday, 10 November Kick-off: 2000 GMT
Coverage: Full commentary on BBC Radio Wales, live text commentary online, score updates on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC Sport website

Dave Jones has defended Cardiff City's November record since he became boss.

Jones has won only five out of 26 games his Bluebirds teams have played in November since he replaced Lennie Lawrence in the summer of 2005.

Cardiff's south Wales derby defeat to Swansea on Sunday was their fourth successive November loss - but Jones hopes to improve his record at Reading.

"There are lots of things that could have contributed to that," Jones said ahead of Wednesday's Madejski trip.

Cardiff were top of the Championship in the 2006/07 campaign but won only once and lost three in that November.

Jones' team then dropped from second to seventh last season because of a draw and three defeats in November - before ultimately losing to Blackpool in the Championship play-off final in May.

Now second-placed Cardiff face play-off chasing Reading, mid-table pair Scunthorpe United and Nottingham Forest, and leaders Queen's Park Rangers in this November.

Jones is determined his Cardiff must react positively from their derby-day disappointment and ensure the November difficulties do not manifest into a psychological issue.

"There might have been in the past," said Jones, discussing Cardiff's November issues.

JONES' NOVEMBERS AT CARDIFF 2005: W 2, D 2, L2 2006: W 1, D 1, L3 2007: W 1, D 2, L 1 2008: W 1, D 2, L 3 2009: W 0, D 1, L 3 2010 (so far): L 1

"That maybe down to a lot of games in a short space of time when we didn't have a big squad and we might have had injuries.

"The could have been lots of reasons.

"If you look at most clubs, I'm sure they would have a similar record somewhere if you look into it that much.

"But we are coming into a period where there are a lot of games in a short space of time."

Cardiff are searching for their fourth away win in a row at Reading after losing their five-match winning sequence to Swansea on Sunday.

And Jones hopes to return to winning ways in his 600th league game of his managerial career.

"Reading comes quickly after the Swansea game and we want to get the derby defeat out of our system," said Cardiff defender Mark Hudson.

The 28-year-old centre-back could regain the captain's armband at Reading in his 250th club appearance if Jones' rests Craig Bellamy to manage his long-standing knee problem.

"It is important for us to rectify our poor form in November," said Hudson.

"But as a player, you can't think about that as it was in previous seasons.

"And if we win on Wednesday everyone can forget about the November thing and get on with the campaign."

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