Official Reading FC stance emerges on Veljko Paunovic’s future | OneFootball

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Football League World

·16 January 2022

Official Reading FC stance emerges on Veljko Paunovic’s future

Article image:Official Reading FC stance emerges on Veljko Paunovic’s future

Reading owner Dai Yongge is ‘fully supportive’ of manager Veljko Paunovic despite recent results, as per an official club statement released last night.

This stance comes amid the Royals’ announcement that Liam Moore had been stripped of the club captaincy after effectively handing in a second transfer request since his arrival at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.


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The latest statement has only added to the club’s current turmoil both on and off the pitch in Berkshire, with fan unhappiness growing on social media about their current predicament off it and their current form not exactly doing anything to improve the mood.

Quiz: Can you name which club Reading FC signed these 28 defenders from?

1 of 28

Article image:Official Reading FC stance emerges on Veljko Paunovic’s future

Liam Moore

Bristol City Brighton and Hove Albion Barnsley Leicester City

Yesterday’s last-minute defeat at the Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough extended their winless run to five competitive games and leaves the relegation battlers hovering just three points above the drop zone going into midweek’s clash against Luton Town.

According to the Reading Chronicle, Serbian Paunovic is set to remain at the club until the end of the campaign, bad news for those who feel his time is up in Berkshire after a poor run of results.

However, owner Mr Dai has seemingly made his feelings very clear on the manager’s future despite barely being visible to the Championship side’s fans.

In their statement yesterday evening, the club posted: “Mr Dai is fully supportive of the manager and his decisions and understanding of the hard few months we have endured both on and off the pitch.

“Together we are stronger and will prevail. Our owner and everyone involved with Reading Football Club would like to sincerely thank our fans for their incredible support and will endeavour to work even harder to help us achieve our collective goals.”

The Verdict:

This is a pretty clear verdict from Mr Dai and one that may not go down well with fans that want to see a new manager and a fresh style of play in the Royals’ attempt to remain afloat in the second tier.

However, it does provide clarity and that’s the one positive that some can take from this statement – because many supporters will now start to accept that Paunovic is here for the foreseeable future.

Amid uncertainty elsewhere, this is the sort of clarity that fans require and the club needs to provide this transparency on many other matters if they are to increase attendances and improve the atmosphere surrounding the club.

If they are to keep Paunovic, he needs help and this should come in the form of a Director of Football if the finances are there to make that happen, along with a sufficient scouting network if not in place already.

One thing is clear though, along with Mr Dai’s backing of the manager, and that’s the fact the latter needs to start getting results soon to stop the atmosphere from turning more toxic.

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