Former Reading manager Brian McDermott has urged the club's owners to give Paul Ince an adequate amount of time before deciding whether to keep him on or not, speaking in an interview with the Reading Chronicle.

The 61-year-old was dismissed twice from the manager's job at the Select Car Leasing Stadium under previous shareholders, with his second sacking seen as particularly harsh by many despite enduring an underwhelming time in Berkshire when he returned.

And at times, the current owners haven't been shy to dismiss their managers, with Paul Clement departing in December 2018 and Mark Bowen being sacked shortly before the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

At other times though, they have been more patient with Jaap Stam being given time to turn things around before they finally pulled the trigger in March 2018 - and Veljko Paunovic was arguably left in charge for far too long.

With Ince at the helm though and multiple changes being made behind the scenes in the summer, the Royals now seem to be focusing more on their long-term future and their current manager is at the heart of that.

After seeing the former England international enjoy a positive start to his permanent spell in charge, with the Berkshire outfit current sitting in third, McDermott has urged the club to keep their boss in charge even when times get tough.

He said: "The most important thing is a bit of stability, give the manager some time and let him do his stuff.

"For me, there looks to be a camaraderie between the players, the staff, and the supporters again. It’s building, and that’s a good place to be."

The Verdict:

It's a difficult subject for many Reading supporters but the vast majority seem to be fully behind the former England international now despite his mixed start to life in Berkshire.

This season has even been mixed to an extent - but he's continuing to get points on the board and that's the only thing the Royals' fanbase can ask of him in the side's quest to remain afloat in the second tier once more.

Ince spent a considerable amount of time away from management and that's one concern for the Berkshire outfit's fans, as well as the fact they have suffered heavy defeats against the likes of Rotherham United, Sheffield United and Sunderland already this term.

If they can tighten up their defence though, that will help to put many fans' minds at ease, though that won't be an easy task unless they have the likes of Sam Hutchinson and Naby Sarr available from now until the end of the season.

They could also benefit from another defensive option with Scott Dann and Liam Moore out of action for the foreseeable future, even with Amadou Mbengue at their disposal after coming in earlier this month.