With the raft of changes made at Reading Football Club of late, especially in the wake of the sacking of popular fan favourite Brian McDermott and departure of long serving Director of Football Nicky Hammond, there has been little optimism around the club - but I disagree.

Personally, I believe that this magnificent club is Premier League bound, and that with a couple of clever additions, the current squad is in a solid place to challenge for promotion. Here's why.

First of all, I want to highlight the influx of quality youth players coming through the club at the moment. Reading are renowned for producing top quality talent, with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Shane Long, Charlie Austin and Alex McCarthy all coming through the youth ranks at Reading.

The future looks bright for Jonathan Bond in goal, and Jake Cooper provides height and aerial presence at the back. Full backs Niall Keown and Tennai Watson have shown major promise for the under 21 side, whilst Jordan Obita continues to develop.

In midfield, Aaron Kuhl, Josh Barrett, Jack Stacey and George Evans are just some of the players coming through, and Tariqe Fosu and Dominic Samuel give pace going forward. If these players develop, then Reading have solid foundations to build on.

Secondly, for me, there is a great mix of experienced heads and youthful players just breaking through into the side, and a balanced squad is a must-have for any promotion chasing side.

Paul McShane and Stephen Quinn have both international and Premier League experience, and Olly Norwood, whilst still being relatively young, is travelling with Northern Ireland to the Euros after playing more minutes in qualifying than any over player in white and green.

Chris Gunter is in the top 10 most capped Welsh players of all time, despite just being 26, and Garath McCleary has played in several tournaments with Jamaica. No team in the Football League has more representatives going to Euro 2016 than Reading, and I think that speaks volumes.

Finally, I think that, with a carefully recruited new manager, this side could easily be tinkered to launch a promotion push.

Jaap Stam is the main name being banded about for the management role at the Madejski Stadium at the moment, and Stam is a big name who would have a huge presence around the club and in the dressing room. Whilst he has very little managerial experience, he has been involved  in the setups at Ajax and Manchester United respectively, and surely he could bring some of the things he have learnt at these clubs to Berkshire should he be appointed.

Reading fans, what do you think? Agree with Harry? Let us know your thoughts on next season and the club in general!!