Reading manager Ruben Selles praised the strong character of his players for brushing aside the club’s off-field worries to secure a vital 4-0 League One victory over Cambridge.
Goals from Sam Smith and Femi Azeez gave Reading, who are still beset by constant cash-flow problems, a commanding half-time lead and they cruised past Cambridge after the break with further efforts from Lewis Wing and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.
“It was really important for me to see the character of the team as the week has been another difficult one for us,” Selles said.
“The boys have been working really hard to get that kind of performance and to get those goals.
“We focused on the task in hand and it is good to find a group of players who want to compete for each other in that way.
“I’m very proud of what they did today.
“We were very ruthless in the final third, very ruthless in what we did. I would like to see that more often.
“It’s not myself who kept the players focused. I think they learnt themselves to keep focused as individuals and as a team.
“It was a great expression of the character of the dressing room. The team is alive, it means that it has that life inside.
“It makes them really difficult to beat and they showed that. So it’s not down to me, it’s absolutely them.”
Struggling Cambridge, with new head coach Garry Monk three matches into his reign, lost heavily to Reading after a previous 6-0 defeat at Lincoln on Tuesday.
“It’s been a difficult week,” said Monk. “But I’m not going to lose any belief in the squad.
“It’s been a difficult two games that we’ve had but I’ve seen enough in the players, the ability is there.
“But it’s been a symptom of these two games. We started this one well enough and with a bit of momentum.
“But it seems that every time we get that bit of momentum, we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot.
“The first two goals were similar to Tuesday (against Lincoln). They were just poor goals, just individual errors, whether that’s down to concentration or decision-making.
“And it leads straight to a goal. Unfortunately, that’s what happened on Tuesday and that’s what happened today.
“There were quite a few large spells in the game overall when we were quite competent with the ball and were doing OK.
“But we come out in the second half, again gain momentum, but not taking our opportunities is then compounded by Reading’s last two goals.
“And then you’re out of the game.”