Mark Bowen has been appointed as manager of Reading and has sent a message to Royals supporters after his arrival in Berkshire.

The Welshman takes over from Portuguese boss Jose Gomes who departed after Reading had lost five of their last six Championship matches.

Bowen was the Sporting Director at Reading and first joined as a technical consultant at the back end of last season. He has stepped up from his current position to become the first-team manager as the Royals look to improve on a dismal start to the current campaign.

It's set to be an interesting period at the club, and in a video interview, Bowen has already spoken about what the Royals need to do.

Speaking to the official Reading social media channels, Bowen said: "The first thing that struck me when I came to the club, was the feeling the supporters had towards the club. That's massive. Myself, coming into the job, and the players, the first thing we'll all say is that we can't do it without the fans backing."

The Verdict

It's a really big message that many supporters will ignore, especially considering the initial reaction to Bowen being appointed as manager of the Royals.

It'll be really interesting to see how fans of Reading will welcome him to the Madejski Stadium on Saturday, and whether he gets a generous applause or some boos.

Gomes was a popular figure at the club, and he built up a really strong fan relationship with supporters which was one of the reasons why fans never sung for the Portuguese boss to leave or stated that they wanted him to depart the club.

Bowen already has an uphill battle to face, and he'll be hoping the fans take on board his message.

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