REBORN ROYALS SPARKLE
Paunovic wins over doubters
BACK in August, Veljko Paunovic’s arrival in the hotseat at Reading caught almost everyone by surprise.
Apart from a handful of seasons in charge of Chicago Fire in MLS, the former Serbia and Montenegro midfielder was somewhat of a rookie when it came to club coaching.
In truth, supporter alarm seemed justified. Paunovic was an unknown quantity with no experience of the English footballing pyramid and his American adventure had only recently ended in acrimony.
A damaging collapse in results had seen Chicago fall out of the play-off hunt, which led to the axe unceremoniously falling on Paunovic in November 2019.
Meanwhile, Reading were a club in desperate need of revival. Things had gone stale. Previous flirtations with the glamour of the Premier League had been largely forgotten, replaced with dull, gritty mid-table finishes in the second tier.
Pictures of the Royals’ glory days continued to proudly adorn the Madejski Stadium, inadvertently creating a bleak contrast with what was playing out on the pitch.
Was Paunovic, below, really the man to turn the clock back?
Well, nine months later a quite extraordinary mood shift has taken place in Berkshire.
Reading have spent the entire season battling for promotion, with the tantalising prospect of a surprise return to the heady heights of the top flight still dangling on the horizon.
Paunovic’s impact was instant. Seven wins from their first eight league games saw the Royals sit proudly at the summit by the end of October and while there have been wobbles since, Reading are still dancing to their new manager’s tune. A hard-fought 3-1 win against Derby on Easter Monday kept Paunovic’s side in pole position for the final play-off spot.
The result was vital but it was the team spirit which stood out the most. A bitterly cold afternoon was warmed by the togetherness on show when every player (goalkeeper Rafael Cabral included) rushed to celebrate with George Puscas after the Hungarian had made it 2-0.
A sense of determination and pride in the badge has been restored under Paunovic.
Maybe this isn’t so surprising after all. In his first season in Illinois, the 43-year-old instantly won over fans and players alike, cultivating a similarly special atmosphere as the Fire recorded one of the best league finishes in the club’s history.
Inspirational
Indeed, former World Cup winner and then-Chicago player Bastian Schweinsteiger couldn’t help but gush with praise when describing the manager’s inspirational team talks throughout that campaign.
Yes, things did eventually turn sour in Chicago and the blood and thunder of the Championship represents a completely different challenge but you can see why the Reading hierarchy were prepared to take a gamble.
The former Atletico Madrid man has taken much of Reading’s young side under his wing, giving the likes of Michael Olise, Ovie Ejaria and Tom Holmes the confidence to play without fear.
Performance levels have been maintained throughout much of the season, with bookies and pundits being proved wrong time and time again.
Friday night’s 2-0 defeat at inform Watford was a setback and the Royals now need to fight to get back into the top six.
“This is what I got into football for, I love these battles!” Paunovic told The FLP. “We can only concentrate on our own results and not look at what others do with a sense of fear.
“We are really happy with what has happened so far this season but, to be honest, that doesn’t matter now. It all comes down to this.”