Nigel Gibbs and Karl Halabi have returned to the Royals as part of Paul Clement's coaching staff.

Both coaches were part of Brian McDermott's coaching team in the promotion-winning 2011/12 season where they came top of the Championship.

They have rejoined the club to form part of Paul Clement's coaching staff, the official Reading site has confirmed. Both have worked with Clement previously, and they were involved in Clement's spell at Swansea City.

Their previous experience with the club will enable them to aid Clement's transition at the club and ensure that the players are able to adopt Clement's methods quickly after being used to Jaap Stam's rigid approach to games.

The Verdict

Having familiar faces who have a good understanding of the history and values of the club is likely to impress the fans and help them get on side with Clement and his methods, if they weren't before. Clement is also able to bring his favoured backroom staff without upsetting the hierarchy at the club due to them being familiar faces.

The mutual connections between the club and Clement means that his tenure starts well even before the Royals have played a game, so there is likely to be a feel-good factor around the club going in to the key clash against QPR.