Coppell sees red over Sodje dismissal

The Reading manager, Steve Coppell, admits he is "a little bit bemused" by his team's poor disciplinary record this season after they picked up three red cards and 14 yellows in their first five games.

The Nigerian defender Sam Sodje became the latest Reading player to be sent off in Tuesday night's Carling Cup second-round victory over Swansea.

Sodje, who may sign for Sheffield Wednesday by the end of this week, was sent off by the referee Kevin Friend for a second yellow-card offence, which meant Reading faced the final 32 minutes – and then extra time – reduced to 10 men.

The striker Leroy Lita's neat 105th-minute finish ensured they left south Wales with a 1-0 win and a place in the third round, but Coppell is concerned about the flurry of cards. He said: "I have been amazingly proud of our disciplinary record, and yet five games into this season we've had three sendings-off. I am a little bemused by it.

"I always like to say we are competitive, but we are not a dirty side. Some of the decisions [at Swansea] I just could not understand, but, thankfully, we got the right result.

"I try to bite my tongue sometimes because I don't like complaining about referees," Coppell added, "but there was an element of unfairness in some of the decisions. I didn't feel the consistency for both sides was right. The referee reacted to the crowd's reaction for the second tackle.

"I just felt we were on the wrong end of quite a few decisions. Sodje's hardly made a tackle, and then as a centre-half, he is strong and wins the ball. To be punished with the foul and then to be given a second yellow card – I thought it was outrageous."

Sodje now faces a one-match ban and, if a possible loan move to Sheffield Wednesday goes ahead by tomorrow, he stands to miss the Championship game with Bristol City 24 hours later.

Coppell added: "It is ongoing. It should be sorted out over the next 24 hours. I don't know how it will work out. Any move has got to be something that is attractive to him. When I've got a healthy squad, I've got players who can play in that position [centre-half]. We will see."

While Sodje contemplates a likely future away from the Madejski Stadium, Coppell can look forward to a third-round tie, allied to satisfaction gained from impressive returns following injury and suspension, respectively, for Lita and Dave Kitson.

Coppell said: "It is nice to have Lita back, but for both him and Kitson to play the full 120 minutes, they did terrifically well to come through it. In everything we did, I thought we showed our desire to be in the next round. I know people criticise what I do in cup competitions with changing the players around, but we always want to go through.

"I want to compliment Swansea. They play effective football which is pleasing on the eye. I knew it was going to be a difficult test."