The Sky Bet Championship managerial merry-go-round whirred into life last night as Aston Villa sacked Steve Bruce after a poor run of form.

Perhaps a later firing of the starting gun than usual, the sack-race is finally underway this season in the second tier which brings us neatly to the beginning of a new FLW feature - The Sack Watch.

Assessing those bosses teetering on the edge of unemployment, our first subject is Reading's Paul Clement...

What's happened so far?

Clement was appointed towards the end of last season as Reading looked relegation right in the face under Jaap Stam.

He kept them up, just about, and promised that, this year, things would be different - looking to employ an attacking style and making signings Royals fans could get behind and actually enjoy watching.

So far, though, things have not been up to scratch...

Where's it going wrong?

First of all, the attacking brand of football Clement has sought to usher in has been only ever-so-slightly - and it's actually debatable depending on who you talk to - better than the style under Stam.

Certainly, talking a philosophy gets you through interviews but, so far, employing it is where Clement will feel he has work to still do.

At times he appears to be getting it and going bold - bringing in Josh Sims supported that for example - but at other times there's still a sense of over-caution and that is confusing.

Ask a Reading fan about how they're going to play and each weekend, you'll get a different response - the identity still needs to be imprinted and that lack of distinct style is leading to disjointed and fragmented performances.

Can things be fixed?

They can but it's up for debate whether they will.

You see promising signs from Clement and his Royals team at times. Look at the performances against Preston and Blackburn and Brentford - displays that showed they are more than capable of competing.

Too often, though, no sooner has one step forward been taken that another has gone in the other direction - QPR's win on Tuesday night was the latest example of that.

Clement needs to find a team and style that works - the potential is there - and then show conviction by sticking with it.

Too much tinkering and second-guessing has hampered progress so far and fans are rightly frustrated by the so-close yet so-far nature of their season.

How long has he got?

Reading are in the middle of a defining run of six fixtures.

They started with a win against Hull and then drew at Brentford - a good start.

Typically, though, they lost at home to QPR and now face West Brom this weekend at the Hawthorns before games against Millwall and Birmingham after the international break.

At the beginning of the run, Clement would have wanted at least ten points to show a sign of progress and currently has four - he could well have three games to get things going.