Reading have shot themselves in the foot

Well that was unexpected, it has to be said. Granted, Reading were on a poor run of form, but to sack Brian McDermott with nine games to go and the club four points from safety, it leaves the Royals in a perilous position, further narrowing their chances of securing their Premier League future.

Things haven't worked out as well as Reading fans had hoped in their return to top flight football, that's a given, but it can hardly be the fault of McDermott, who has had a little more than a shoestring transfer budget to work with with from the day he was appointed in 2009.

In fact, it was around this time last year that the Royals put together an impressive unbeaten run to secure Championship glory, not to mention the fact that McDermott himself picked up the manager of the month award a little over 30 days ago.

However, the board deemed it necessary to sack the manager who had given Reading their best chance of staving off the threat of relegation, regardless of tools he had to work with. With nine games left to play, including daunting trips to Manchester United and Arsenal coming next, what was the best the club were hoping for?

Reports suggest Paolo Di Canio was in attendance during the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, heightening speculation that he's set to take over the reins, but even then it was nonsensical to rid the 51-year-old, who was the most likely to give Reading a fighting chance of guaranteeing their Premier League safety come May.