Noel Hunt picked up his first win as Reading manager as the Royals strolled to a comfortable Boxing Day win over Northampton Town.
Relegation battling Northampton went into the match hoping for a new manager bounce after they appointed former Premier League stalwart Kevin Nolan as their new boss earlier in the week.
Meanwhile, Hunt was searching for his first victory as Reading boss having drawn one and lost two since taking over from Ruben Selles.
Amadou Mbengue returned from a concussion to make the starting eleven, while young defender Abraham Kanu started at full-back.
There was a familiar face in the Northampton line-up as left-back Nesta Guiness-Walker, who played 41 times across two seasons for Reading, started for the visitors.
His team made a flying start to the contest when Harvey Knibbs put the hosts ahead after five minutes when he squeezed the ball in from a tight angle following a game of head tennis in the Northampton box.
Reading had a second as they tightened their grip on the game in the first-half. Sam Smith broke behind the Cobblers backline, beating the offside trap before he tucked the ball underneath the onrushing goalkeeper to find the net.
The points were safely in the bag in the 75th minute when Charlie Savage put Reading three ahead as he smacked the ball in from 25 yards out to find the corner.
Northampton did manage to grab a goal back with a little under 10 minutes of the 90 to play when Tom Eaves got on the scoresheet.
However, it was Reading who had the final say when Mamadi Camara made it 4-1 to cap off a fine display from the hosts
The win keeps Reading in the top six as they move onto 34 points from 21 matches.
Reading host play-off pushing Mansfield Town on Sunday.
Reading: Pereira, Craig, Mbengue, Bindon, Kanu, Wing, Savage, Knibbs, Campbell, Camara, Smith
Subs: Ahmed, Button, Dean, Garcia, Rushesha, Sackey, Wareham
Northampton: Tzanev, McGowan, Eyoma, Guthrie, Guinness-Walker, Hondermarck, Chouchane, Pinnock, McGeehan, McCarron, Eaves
Subs: Baldwin, Dodge, Dobson, Obiagwu, Odimayo, Willis, Wyatt
Goals: Knibbs 5’, Smith 28’, Savage 75’, Eaves 81’, Camara 87’
