Reading’s form needs to change very quickly

READING’S steady deceleration is alarming fans.

They flew out the blocks, charging along at automatic promotion pace for the first few weeks.

They then touched the brakes to reduce to play-off hopeful speed. In the last few weeks they have crawled along like a team hell-bent on relegation.

The wheels have come off, with previously magnificent players looking tired and devoid of ideas, and a manager who could do no wrong making increasingly odd decisions. It will be difficult to halt the decline and get back up to top speed.

In a remarkable first eight games of the season, Reading won 22 points – keep that up and you will smash all sorts of records in winning automatic promotion.

In their most recent eight games, Reading have won just eight points. Keep that up and it is “hello League 1”. The record now is even worse, with just three points taken from their last five games.

Arresting this slide is crucial, if they are to finish in the top half of the table, let alone the play-off zone.

The defeat to Wycombe on Tuesday evening perfectly summed up the decline.

Lucas Joao has scored 20 goals this season, but never looked capable of troubling goalkeeper David Stockdale, even from the penalty spot.

Josh Laurent and Andy Rinohmota have offered the team a perfect midfield platform most of this season, but the tight partnership has been split up and Alfa Semedo has inexplicably been stuck in a more defensive central midfield role.

Four central defenders started the game across the back, with three specialist full-backs left on the bench.

One-nil down with 78 minutes gone they had one striker on the pitch. A rejigging and a couple of substitutions later they seemed to be operating with four strikers.

The substitutions in recent weeks have become increasingly bizarre.

Trailing 1-0 with a few minutes remaining, Ovie Ejaria and Michael Olise were removed. They have been Reading’s most reliable creators of chances this season.

A couple of weeks ago against Millwall they were leading 1-0. Both fullbacks were replaced and they lost 2-1.

In the business of coaching and sport, maintaining good form and winning results is a much under-rated skill.

All at once you need to change nothing, but also keep athletes mentally fresh and re-invigorated.

Routine is great, to a point, but before you know it that can slip into going through the motions.

That was the genius of Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United, Robin Williams with Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, Sir Henry Cecil with Frankel and Andy Flower with the England cricket team. Steve Coppell with Reading 15 years ago was a master. They constantly change the mental challenges laid down, the way of thinking, the way of talking and the way they motivate teams and individuals. They avoided players becoming bored, restless or finding training and games a chore. It takes creativity, imagination and brilliant communication skills. It takes discipline and incredible powers of observation and tactical intelligence, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Too late, in Reading’s case. Veljko Paunovic now has a lot of fixing to do.