Do Reading need Clement change?

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HITC Sport looks at whether or not Reading need to act and change their manager following their struggles.

It is that time of year again in the English football calendar- managerial sacking season – and Reading boss Paul Clement must be under intense pressure following the club’s poor start to the campaign.

The Royals are languishing in the bottom three of the Championship and are facing a second successive season battling to avoid relegation.

There have been two managerial casualties so far in the Championship this season and, with the real threat of relegation to League One hanging over them, Reading have got a big decision to make on the future of Clement.

It seems a long time ago that Reading were just a penalty shoot-out away from reaching the Premier League in the 2016/17 season, but things have not gone to plan since.

Clement arrived at the club in March to replace Jaap Stam and guided them to survival on the final day of last season. But he has only overseen six wins during his 25 games in charge, losing 14 of those.

Clement’s Reading record:

Clement has endured an up-and-down managerial career, lasting seven months in charge at Derby before being sacked. He then kept Swansea up in the Premier League, but was axed after less than a year in charge with the club rock bottom of the table.

This summer, as Clement prepared for his first full season in charge of Reading, he brought in eight new players to improve the squad. But those new arrivals have not had the desired effect and it has left the squad imbalanced.

Some of the signings raised eyebrows, with veteran Irish defender John O’Shea winning a move to the Madejski Stadium at the age of 37, despite suffering relegation from the Championship with Sunderland at the end of last season.

Reading have lost nine of their opening 15 Championship games this season, including five defeats at home, while only picking up three victories.

Performances and team selections have left supporters bemused and frustrated, and attendances for games at the Madejski Stadium have been dwindling every passing week, which has to be a major concern for those in the corridors of power.

Once fans vote with their feet it is hard for a manager to turn things around and all signs suggest it is time for a change at Reading.

The Royals face two massive home games before the next international break and, if results do not improve in those two games, the two-week hiatus gives the club’s owners time to make a managerial change and try to transform the club’s fortunes.