Reading FC will rue 2015 Fulham incident: View | OneFootball

Steve Clarke's decision to speak to the Cottagers proved to be the start of the end of the Scotland manager's reign in Berkshire.

Steve Clarke was lying on a beach in the Caribbean when he got an offer to take the Reading job in 2014.

The Royals were set to sack Nigel Adkins at the time - and when the call came - Clarke got on a plane as quickly as possible to accept the top job in Berkshire.

The Scotsman had previously taken charge of West Bromwich Albion, and having worked as a coach at plenty of elite clubs, including Chelsea, he looked to be a solid appointment for the then-Championship side.

With the Berkshire side defending very poorly during the latter stages of Adkins' spell, Clarke needed to tighten up their defence and keep them afloat in the second tier.

Not only was Clarke able to keep them in the second tier, but he was also able to bring in the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah and Nathan Ake on loan during the January transfer window, having used his contacts, and also guided the club to an FA Cup semi-final tie against Arsenal.

They arguably deserved to win against the Gunners, having put up a brave fight against Arsene Wenger's men, but it was the Premier League giants that prevailed in the end.

Steve Clarke's Fulham talks

Having guided the Royals to safety at the end of the 2014/15 season, Clarke was then given the green light to rebuild the team during the summer of 2025, with some top-quality additions coming in on loan both permanently and on loan.

Orlando Sa was their first signing of the summer and he looked set to be a shrewd addition, along with the likes of Matej Vydra and Lucas Piazon.

Because of this backing and the fact Fulham were potential promotion rivals at the time, many Royals fans were furious when it emerged that Clarke had spoken to the Cottagers regarding the top job at Craven Cottage, following the departure of Kit Symons.

The Royals' form had gone a little bit downhill even before it was reported that Clarke had spoken to the Cottagers, but those talks felt like the beginning of the end for the 60-year-old, who was sacked during the early stages of December following a 1-0 home loss against Queens Park Rangers.

Many fans had turned on him - and his departure didn't come as a major surprise.

Brian McDermott took over after that, but he was unable to turn things around and they finished in a lower mid-table position at the end of the 2015/16 season.

The Royals made a brilliant start to the 2015/16 season, largely thanks to Nick Blackman, who did very well during the first half of that campaign.

Securing some excellent victories, with their 5-1 win against Ipswich Town arguably their highlight of the season, the Royals showed real potential.

That night, in front of the Sky Sports cameras, Sa looked unstoppable, Vydra looked to be a very good forward option and others also played well, with Oliver Norwood scoring a screamer.

Looking excellent in their opening 12 league matches of the season, they were in a strong position in the promotion mix, before they fell apart at Craven Cottage, having gone 2-0 up in West London.

That came before Clarke's talks with the Cottagers, but those talks and the noise surrounding that probably didn't help the Berkshire side's cause before he was sacked.

People will wonder whether he would have been able to get the Royals back on track if it hadn't been for those talks, with the ex-Chelsea coach going on to be a success at Kilmarnock, before becoming Scotland's manager.

He is a much better manager than some of the Royals' recent bosses - and it's a shame that things didn't quite work out for him in Berkshire in the end.