Anton Zingarevich is confident Reading will return to the Premier League.
The Royals earned promotion to the top-flight after winning the Championship title last season, but they have been unable to get to grips with the step up in quality. Despite collecting seven points in January, which earned Brian McDermott the Manager of the Month award, the Madejski Stadium club have battled against the drop all campaign.
Indeed, just 33 days after winning the gong, McDermott was sacked after a run of four successive defeats left them rooted in the relegation zone. The appointment of Nigel Adkins, himself axes by fellow new-boys Southampton earlier this year, has failed to stop the rot, and a goalless draw against Queens Park Rangers on Sunday sealed their relegation.
Zingarevich, though, is satisfied that the club are in a sound enough financial position to cope with the drop, although they will miss out on the new Premier League TV deal worth an additional £14million. And the Royals owner is set to discuss Adkins’ needs in regards to the playing squad for next season, as he plans a second promotion in three years.
“We are in a good place financially,” he said. “The club was run in a prudent way before [he took charge] and that is how it will be run in the future. Obviously the new TV deal for the Premier League would have helped, but we will come back in 12 months. I don’t want to think about what would have happened. We are focused on what we want to achieve.
“I don’t want to think about what would have happened. We need to give the manager all the tools he needs. We will sit down and discuss specifics and understand what his wishes are in terms of the current group. For me it’s not the amount that needs to be spent but how you spend the money. We need to go out and sign the right players for us.”
