3 issues Paul Ince immediately needs to address at Reading FC after interim appointment

Paul Ince will take charge of Reading for the rest of the season after the club decided to sack Veljko Paunovic.

The former Chicago Fire boss has been under huge pressure in recent months as the Royals slipped down the table, and a decision was seemingly made before yesterday’s game at Preston, which Reading won 3-2, to move Paunovic on.

Whilst that wasn’t too much of a surprise, even after a victory, it’s fair to say the decision to turn to Ince was a shock.

The 54-year-old last worked as a manager with Blackpool in 2014, so this is seen as a real risk by the Reading hierarchy, with the team just five points above the relegation zone.

Here we look at THREE issues Ince will have to address immediately to keep the team up…

The defence

It doesn’t take a genius to see where the big problems lie with Reading, they simply concede too many goals.

The two scored by Preston yesterday means the Berkshire outfit have shipped 62 goals – the worst in the league. Clearly, this needs to stop and whether it’s a tweak in formation or switching personnel, Ince needs to ensure this team start keeping clean sheets.

The fans

It would be unfair to say the fans are an issue because they have continued to support the team in a difficult situation, and there passion to protest at what they see as bad decisions should be encouraged.

However, they will not be happy with Ince’s appointment, due to his lack of managerial experience, so the atmosphere could still be toxic at the club.

The new boss needs to get results quickly to ensure there are no more off-field distractions.

Home form

It’s clear that Reading are still in a battle to avoid relegation and their home form will be key to that.

Four wins from 16 and just 16 points isn’t good