Mark Bowen was appointed Reading manager yesterday, after taking over from former boss Jose Gomes.

He comes into the club with the side sitting in the relegation zone after the first 11 games of the new Championship campaign.

Having been the Sporting Director for the first part of the season, Bowen's appointment came as a shock to the footballing world, with many questioning his experience as a manager.

Supporters will be hoping that Bowen can spark a revival at the club, although he'll need to address a number of issues ahead of his first fixture against high-flying Preston.

Here are THREE issues that Bowen should look to address at Reading...

Goalscoring confidence

This is a key part to any team, and if you have strikers that can find the back of the net then you're always going to have an opportunity in any fixture you play in.

Reading have a few highly-rated forwards, but so far this season it really hasn't happened for them. George Puscas signed from Inter Milan, and has scored just three times whilst missing a hatful of easy opportunities, something that has clearly knocked his confidence.

Lucas Joao and Yakou Meite have been rotating with neither being able to go on a good run of form, and this has seriously halted the Royals as for all their good build-up play, no-one is hitting the back of the net.

Defensive structure

One of the vital parts of any team is the defensive structure and how well organised it is on a consistent basis.

Reading seem to turn-off at crucial moments or periods in games, and it's cost them. The defence has looked so out of shape, with none of the three centre-backs able to pick up strikers running into the box at different times of the games.

Matt Miazga's inclusion has been a welcome sigh of relief, but under Gomes it looked like all three of the centre-halves didn't know who to pick up on almost every cross.

Fan relations

Bowen has to address this issue first. This is probably the one thing that is so important in order to achieve any success during his time at the club.

The fans took to social media yesterday to voice their displeasure at the appointment, and that will have probably put even more pressure on the new boss to pick up some victories as soon as possible.

He has to deal with the supporters first and foremost, and the way to do that might just be by letting the football do the talking.

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