Proud Paul Ince hails ‘fantastic day’ as Reading secure safety despite defeat

Interim manager Paul Ince expressed deep pride at keeping Reading in the Sky Bet Championship despite suffering a 3-0 defeat at Hull.

The Royals had looked in a perilous position when Ince replaced Veljko Paunovic in February, but they have stayed up with two games remaining as relegation rivals Peterborough lost to Nottingham Forest.

Ince said: “It’s a big one for me – especially the time I’ve been out (of management).

“There were a few eyebrows raised when I came to Reading. Getting what I’ve got out of the players, I’m proud of that.

“I didn’t think we’d be able to turn it around that quickly. From day one, the atmosphere has been great.

“There have been no bad eggs since I came here. They’re all fighting together and you can sense that around the building.

“I’m proud that the supporters can now look forward to another season in the Championship.

“I’m proud of the staff who would have been worrying about their jobs as there would have been redundancies if we’d gone down to League One.

“I’m proud what we’ve achieved for their sake. The common goal was to stay in the Championship – we’ve done that.”

A game that was going nowhere sparked into life by Keane Lewis-Potter’s opportunistic goal after 40 minutes.

Lewis-Potter was given too much time on the left, but his powerful hit from an acute angle gave goalkeeper Orjan Nyland little chance.

Reading were then guilty of further defensive hesitancy when a mix-up off George Honeyman’s free-kick allowed Alfie Jones to poke the ball home from close range.

The visitors conceded a third in stoppage time when Lewis-Potter held his nerve in a one-on-one position following good work from Tom Eaves.

Despite the bad result, Ince said: “Why am I disappointed? Two months ago this club