Former Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff has suggested that his former club may have taken a leaf out of Huddersfield's book when they decided to sack Jose Gomes.

The Royals dismissed Gomes last week after the Portuguese oversaw the club's disappointing start to the season, where they had failed to win in seven matches and had won just two of their opening 11 Championship matches.

Reading then appointed the club's former sporting director Mark Bowen as Gomes' replacement earlier this week, with the Welshman set to take on his first full-time managerial role after only working as an assistant boss previously.

McAnuff has now suggested that Reading may have taken the decision to sack Gomes after the seeing the positive influence Jan Siewert's Huddersfield departure has had on the clubs Championship results.

The Terriers appointed Danny and Nicky Cowley as Siewert's replacement following the club's miserable start to the campaign, and the former Lincoln duo have led Huddersfield on a three-game unbeaten run in recent weeks.

Speaking on the Official EFL podcast, McAnuff believes Huddersfield's upturn in fortunes may have had some kind of bearing on Reading's decision.

"I think they [Reading's owners] also look at other clubs sometimes, where they’ve probably seen Huddersfield have done that [sacked their manager] and had that upturn," he said on episode eight of the podcast.

"Sometimes owners make decisions based on what other people are doing and in this instance that's played a part, in that they want that reaction. They’e seen it at other clubs and hope it will work for theirs."

McAnuff made over 200 appearances for Reading during his five-year stint at the club which came to an end in 2014, and he is now plying his trade in the fourth tier with Leyton Orient.

[freshpress-poll ]

The Verdict

McAnuff makes an interesting point here. It's interesting to wonder whether Reading would have been brave enough to sack if they hadn't seen Huddersfield's upturn in form.

It was certainly a bold call for Reading's chiefs to sack Gomes given his popularity at the club, but it might well be the case that Huddersfield's recent resurgence under the Cowleys was a significant factor behind the decision.

Bowen now has an enormous job on his hands to win over the fan base and then deliver results on the pitch, during what is an incredibly testing period for the club.