Reading have endured a tough couple of seasons in the Championship, and they are facing a relegation fight this season, but there has been a welcome departure from the club recently. 

CEO of the club, Ron Gourlay, departed the club after a truly miserable spell with the Royals where his influence was publicly criticised by Royals supporters, many of whom, held him accountable for the recent demise of the club.

But former chairman of the club, Sir John Madejski has weighed in with his verdict on the departing Gourlay.

In a recent interview with football.london, the Reading legend insisted that Gourlay didn't understand the culture of the club, having previously worked with Chelsea.

"The chief executive came in from large enterprises and he didn't get the culture of Reading.

"Reading is largely a parochial club, it's deeply set in the hearts and minds of community and I don't think that really penetrated and I think that was where it went wrong in my humble opinion.

But Madejski surprisingly revealed that the former CEO was a controlling figure, which might explain with rumours that Gourlay had some influence on team selections for Paul Clement's side.

"He had the ear of Mr Dai but it was strange and he didn't really bother with hearts and minds which is what you have to do.

"But I want to be positive because we are going forward now."

Reading are back in action on Saturday evening in front of the Sky Sports cameras against promotion chasing Sheffield United who will be looking to pile on the misery for the Royals.

The Verdict:

Ron Gourlay is one of the most hated men in Berkshire right now.

His destruction of the club was evident from board level to the influence on the players who ultimately failed to produce results when they were desperately needed.

With Gourlay now gone, Reading supporters will hope that they can move on from one of the most difficult periods that they have been faced with in recent years.