manager, Steve Coppell. However, Reading still managed to finish eighth in their first ever top division campaign, just missing out on a UEFA Cup place. Following the end of that season speculation surrounding the future of Lita increased as he continued to be linked with several premier league clubs. However the striker said in July that he wanted to stay at Reading "I'm happy here. This is an important year for me and the club and I just want to play and be successful." In a freak occurrence just prior to the start of the 2007–08 season, Lita was faced with a month of downtime after damaging a leg muscle as he stretched in bed upon waking. Coppell told the BBC: "Leroy is in a great deal of pain. It's a point of laughter but a serious business for him because he's going to be out for three or four weeks." Lita found himself largely out of favour in the 2007–08 season, and spent much of it either left out or injured, he also had a loan spell at Charlton Athletic. He only scored one goal in the Premier League that season, it came on the final day against already relegated Derby County with a diving header in a 4–0 away win. But Reading found themselves joining Derby, as they were relegated on goal difference. Loan spells On 5 March 2008, Lita joined Charlton Athletic on a one-month loan deal, after finding his first team opportunities limited at Reading during the 2007–08 season. The loan was later extended to the end of the season, but he was called back from the loan on 19 April for the last three games of the season. Lita then went to Norwich City for a month-long loan on 1 October. He scored four goals in his initial six game spell including a hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 5–2 victory. Reading and Norwich agreed to extend the loan for another six games until 7 December. Following Norwich's 2–0 win over local rivals Ipswich, it was announced on 8 December that Lita would sign a further third month on loan. Lita went on to score 7 goals for Norwich, and in a season which ultimately ended up with relegation, Lita was City's top scorer. Return to Reading Lita returned to Reading and played in the third round FA Cup tie defeat at Cardiff City. He