Reading FC manager Veljko Paunovic admitted he was ‘not happy’ but ‘relieved’ after the Royals were deducted six points.
Reading were finally handed their punishment yesterday by the EFL for breaching profit and sustainability rules, with an immediate six point suspension and a further suspended penalty of six points if they don’t comply with the EFL business plan.
“First of all, I’m not happy about it, but I’m glad it is over,” said Paunovic.
“It now depends on our reaction how we will move forward. We have to remind ourselves how many lessons this club has faced in the past and we want this challenge to be part of a great future for this club.
“We all want to be part of the solution.
“Nobody who is right now at the club is guilty that this happened, not even for a second.
“It’s now our duty and responsibility to accept this challenge and deal with it.
“We don’t want anyone who is not on the same page and doesn’t want to fix this situation and give their best for the club.
“Nobody is happy about it, there were moments of uncertainty, but when we addressed the team and the employees of the club, and explained our vision and approach we are now turning the energy for everyone to be part of the solution.”
Despite the setback, the Royals boss is now relishing the challenge ahead of his team with a busy schedule of three games in seven days.
We don’t want to make excuses,” he continued.
“We have enough quality to deal with this and fix the situation and that is our immediate response to get out on the field and get points back.
“It could have been worse. This is better than 12 or nine, and it was out of our control.
“The club did a good job to get to this point to accept the punishment. We need to simplify things, narrow our focus to our performances in training and the games.
“For me, the biggest enemy to us is the injuries. We have to deal with those and look not to have more.
“We want to recover these six points as soon as possible. This week, we have three games so we have got to go for it
“We want to reduce the distance between us and the teams in the top six. That’s what we are aiming for.”
