The town of Reading can barely believe what has hit it. The local football club has gone from a mediocre second-tier outfit to a top six Premiership side in only two years.

This year, they have taken the scalps of Spurs and Bolton and held Man Utd to a draw. Fixtures at the ultra-modern Madjeski Stadium are starting to become “tricky away games”.

A few more positive results for Reading and their Premiership status will be secure for the 2007-8 campaign.

They have become the latest Wigan-style Cinderella club, but their awesome, record-breaking form last season in the Championship was not enough for most critics. Writers were predicting that the Premiership would be a step too far for a team that added just one first-team recruit this Summer.

Even their lone “big money” signing, £1.6m man Seol Ki-Hyun could not be more of a typical example of a Reading player - ultra-fit, hard working and supremely motivated. And these are adjectives that apply equally to almost every member of the first-team squad.

There are a few lessons their success can teach the big boys

1) 4-4-2 is the system that works the best in the Premier League. Two banks of four with one lightning striker and one who can hold the ball up is a tried and tested battle plan. The days of home teams playing 4-5-1 are hopefully numbered.

2) Graeme Murty illustrates the fact that your captain should be your most inspirational player, not your best-paid prima donna. Leadership skills, passion for your club and a never-say-die attitude are a pre-requisite. History shows that the majority of great captains have been defenders or defensive midfielders. Carragher would make a better captain than Gerrard at Liverpool - for league games, at least - while Gilberto or Toure could do a more effective job than Henry at Arsenal.

3) Have a tight squad of versatile players and play the best of them, whenever fit, in the positions they are most at home with.

4) Make a fortress out of your home ground. Fulham will tell you that the key to staying afloat in the Premiership is to win your home games and get whatever you can away. Arsenal and Newcastle take note.

As Reading look to the future, they know that now their squad are proven Premier League players, it is only a matter of time before the offers start coming in for the likes of midfield dynamo Steve Sidwell, lethal striker Kevin Doyle and defensive superhero Ibrahim Sonko. Manager Steve Coppell, too, may become fair game as soon as the managerial merry-go-round gets into swing again.

For now, though, the rest can just sit and wonder at how a team of journeymen have risen above established top flight big spenders like Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle.