Nigel Gibbs will be almost 200 miles away when Watford take on Queens Park Rangers tonight, but he has a unique reason for hoping the Hornets get the win that will guarantee their Championship status.

Although the Vicarage Road legend, who was “delighted and very honoured” to be inducted into Watford’s Hall of Fame at the club’s end of season awards dinner on Sunday, will be focused on helping Reading pick up the three points from their trip to Scunthorpe United, he will be eagerly awaiting news of the result from Shepherds Bush in the hope of avoiding what would be a difficult personal situation on Saturday.

The Royals first-team coach is all to aware that if Watford fail to win at Loftus Road, his team could have a big say in determining the fate of a club he was with for 23 years before he was controversially axed from the coaching staff at the start of pre-season for the 2005/06 campaign.

As it is, the Hornets’ final home game of the season is set to be an emotional occasion for Gibbs, who will be in the opposition dugout for the first time, and after collecting his award at Shendish Manor he conceded: “It will be different. I’ve been back in the backroom staff but it will be my first time in the firing line, so to speak, as first-team coach.

“I really do hope that Watford get a result against QPR and we can enjoy the game to a certain degree on the Saturday, but I’m professional, employed by Reading Football Club, and I’ll be doing my utmost to secure the three points and preparing the players as well as I can.

“But it will be difficult and hopefully, as I say, Watford will be safe by then.”

A win tonight will move Reading up to eighth in the table and Gibbs said: “We’ve had a good run. On January 20 we were second from bottom, four points adrift and struggling, but that was the lowest point for us – Sheffield United away – and since then the boys have been fantastic.

“We had a great run, we won eight out of ten, and we’ve continued that. We’ve only had a couple of defeats recently – at home to Newcastle and away to Ipswich – but I’ve got to say the boys have been fantastic and they want to finish the season in as high a position as they can.

“We’ve got three games to go – Scunthorpe, Watford and Preston – and we’ll be looking to get as many points as we can.”