Update emerges on Veljko Paunovic’s Reading FC future

Reading manager Veljko Paunovic took first-team training yesterday despite reportedly being on the verge of a dismissal, as per a Twitter update from talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook.

The 44-year-old has endured a disastrous run of form with the Royals since the start of the calendar year, winning just one point from a possible 21 and losing eight consecutive games in all competitions.

Their last point in the Championship came against Derby County in the early stages of January – and their last victory came in November away at Swansea City in a 3-2 victory with Tom Dele-Bashiru, Andy Carroll and Danny Drinkwater all getting on the scoresheet that afternoon.

After their loss against Middlesbrough last month, owner Dai Yongge gave Paunovic his full backing and it looked as though the Berkshire outfit were going to persist with the Serbian until the end of the 2021/22 campaign before allowing him to leave on the expiration of his contract.

However, reports emerged on Sunday night from numerous outlets that he was set to be sacked yesterday, just 48 hours before their crunch tie away at fellow relegation battlers Peterborough United.

This came as no real surprise to outsiders considering the torrid run the Royals had endured prior to these rumours being released.

However, talkSPORT’s Crook has revealed Paunovic took training as normal yesterday ahead of the second-tier outfit’s midweek league tie, with rumoured interim boss Michael Gilkes present as the club’s Under-23s game as academy manager.

The Verdict:

This is an extremely confusing situation that needs to be cleared up as soon as possible – because the Royals are going into their most important game of the season with little certainty surrounding the manager’s future.

A