'We have no time to lose' Reading boss makes rousing speech as players return

Reading boss Ruben Selles made a rousing speech to his squad as they returned to pre-season training on Wednesday.

It feels like only yesterday that the squad were celebrating a terrific 3-2 win over Blackpool on the final day of the season. In front of over 18,000 supporters, many of whom stayed for the Lap of Appreciation afterwards, positivity was seeping from every corner of the SCL Stadium.

Fast-forward from April 30 and on June 26 the squad returned from their holidays ready to start again. Apathy continues to grow amongst the fanbase due to the prolonged takeover of the club, but Selles was keen to not let this drip into his side's psyche.

Recorded by the club media, Selles gathered his troops and called for his players to hit the ground running from day one.

"We have no time to lose, we are in the same situation as usual," the Spaniard started. "We need to get the very best out of you, the players, and technical staff. This is what we are, and this is who we are. For you who are new here, every pass is important, every touch is important, everything is important.

"On Monday, we will have a meeting where we go through how we create the environment and the rules. It will be similar to last season and a couple of things we need to work on as a team. Meanwhile, just work hard, take care of yourself, listen to Josh and now it’s a pre-season period where we need to learn a lot, work a lot and be able to be ready to go on the first day of the season. That’s how are and that’s how we work."

Last season's pre-season certainly did not go to plan, with off-field issues meaning the club had little preparation with a full team and subsequently lost all fixtures.

With two weeks until the first friendly, Selles and his staff will hope to have a more settled foundation to build on last season's 17th-place finish in League One.