"You don't play Manchester United in the Championship. You don't play in front of 78,000 people, you go to Plymouth.
"Home Park's a lovely stadium, but it ain't Old Trafford," he added.
"When you pressure people in the Championship, they kick it out for a throw-in. Rio Ferdinand drops a bit of skill on the centre forward, turns round and pings a 70-yard diagonal to Ronaldo.
"That's the difference. Those are the things you have to cope with and the things you have to elevate your game to.
"People say, 'oh well, back to the Championship and real football'. I've never, ever subscribed to that point-of-view and never will.
"This is where we want to be and we'll be doing our best to stay because it was a horrible, hard journey to get here.
"This might be the last chance for some players to be in the Premier League and we have to scrap like hell to make sure we stay there."
Reading take on Derby at 1500 BST on Sunday 11 May and is live on BBC Radio Berkshire.
