For a while, I’ve held off discussing the future of Veljko Paunovic in this column. Largely because I believe he’s been dealt a pretty rough hand as Reading manager and I do still hold that viewpoint.
But Saturday’s FA Cup third round exit to non-league Kidderminster Harriers means it is impossible to talk about anything to do with the club without bringing up the precarious nature of Paunovic’s position.
The result is perhaps the most humiliating suffered by Reading in recent memory. There have been heavier defeats and there have been worse performances, but very few come close to the feeling of being knocked out of the cup by a team 78 places below you in the football pyramid.
I should probably point out a couple of caveats here. Firstly, the blame for this result is not solely on Paunovic. The two goals Reading conceded were extremely soft: Rafael let Sam Austin’s shot for the first squirm underneath him, while the defending for the second as a corner was whipped was shambolic.
Secondly, I think the general ill-feeling around this game was made worse by the ugly scenes on the pitch and in the stands after the game, including an alleged punch thrown at one of Tom Holmes’s relatives.
The whole afternoon at Aggborough was very sour for a number of reasons and it all made this the low-point of what has been a pretty miserable season. I would also argue it was the first time where fan opinion of Paunovic swung to a large majority feeling that his time was up. It was certainly an afternoon where I confirmed my place in the #PaunoOut camp.
As I say, I do think there are mitigating circumstances at play and a transfer embargo, unprecedented injury crisis and six-point deduction have made life extremely hard for the Serbian this season. But they cannot be used as an explanation for Saturday’s defeat and Paunovic’s refusal to admit any blame after the game and instead try to justify the result only served to alienate the fanbase even further.
The manager also admitted his priority was the Championship, which is fair enough given Reading are in a relegation battle but again doesn’t really wash with fans when you’ve just been knocked out of the cup by sixth tier opposition.
But the Royals have had one-off good results in the last few months, at Birmingham and Swansea for example. What they need is a consistent run of good form. Perhaps more pressingly that’s what Paunovic needs. A lot of faith has been lost in him after last weekend and he needs to prove he is still the right man for the job.
By Olly Allen
