Reading coach 'trying not to pay too much attention' as ownership saga rumbles on

Reading coach James Oliver-Pearce has admitted that the ownership saga surrounding the club 'can get consuming' but he is trying 'not to pay too much attention to it.'

Now in his third pre-season with the club, Oliver-Pearce continues to build his reputation as an exciting, young coach who has now worked heavily with the likes of Mark Bowen, Paul Ince and Ruben Selles.

The former AFC Wimbledon man is one of Selles' key staff and had sat down with the Reading Chronicle to reflect on last season's efforts and get fired up for the new campaign to come.

READ MORE: Reading FC coach on 'outstanding' return for pre-season work

When last season ended, with over 18,000 supporters in the SCL Stadium treated to a 3-2 win over Blackpool, many had expected a new owner to be at the helm.

Dai Yongge, in his seventh year of owning the club, officially put the club up for sale in September and has been in negotiations with multiple parties during a 12-month period remembered for fan protests.

However, with the new campaign starting in just six weeks, the Chinese businessman remains in position.

"It can get consuming," Oliver-Pearce told the Reading Chronicle. "It's really hard to not see some of it because there are algorithms now that as soon as you're associated to one club or industry things pop up naturally. You see it, you hear it, but unless you're told, and it's factual, then you can't read too much into it.

"There is a lot of stuff said that is not true and there are a lot of people that have got ideas of what might be going on, but unless it's confirmed, you spend your whole time worrying and stressing about something that actually is not within your control and distracts you from doing your job to the best of your ability. So, I think it's hard to miss but I've become probably a lot better at just going ‘at the moment that hasn't affected me, and I can't change it.’

"The minute that I'm either asked to show an opinion on it or I'm told about it then I can act accordingly. My role is obviously to help support the first team environment and to try to produce performances capable of us winning games. You see it but try not to pay too much attention."

Former Wycombe Wanderers chief Rob Couhig is one name in the battle to buy Reading, but the clock is ticking if the hierarchy want a sale before the beginning of the new campaign on August 10.