READING’S Thai shareholders Narin Niruttinanon, Lady Sasima Srivikorn and Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth have released a statement on their ambitions going forward following the culmination of the 2015/16 campaign.
Royals ended the season in 17th place in the Sky Bet Championship following a run of just one point from their last seven matches, with a run to the FA Cup quarter-finals again the stand-out achievement.
The Thai trio used the statement to hint they will be looking to offload a number of players this summer and focus on promoting the talented youngsters among the ranks, suggesting last summer’s policy of bringing in a host of fresh faces did not pay off.
There was also a strong hint that, as expected, none of the six loanees will be retained by the club, nor some of those out of contract such as Simon Cox, Anton Ferdinand and Hal Robson-Kanu.
Despite the on-field disappointment of the first team, the owners assure fans of their commitment to the club and say they are pleased with off-field developments and the success of the club’s academy.
Key points:
- They acknowledge it has been “another disappointing and very frustrating league campaign”
- They admit the target is the same as when they took over two years ago and say “we are trying to understand how best to achieve those ambitions as a group and reach the Premier League”
- They suggest last summer’s overhaul of players did not work, “We decided to invest in a lot of additions and improvements to our squad of players (but) the results on the pitch have not met the club’s high expectations.”
- There are suggestions this summer’s transfer policy will be different: “We have to build from within now and this summer will be an important one.”
- “Change is inevitable and we will need to build and bind together a new squad of players capable of challenging at the top end of the division.”
- Despite recent rumours their interest is waning, the owners say “Despite the obvious disappointment of this season, our commitment to the club grows stronger”
- Focus may well be on the academy players next season, citing Josh Barrett and Tariqe Fosu as good examples: “We are extremely proud of the reputation our academy has rightly earned and we are confident we will see yet more young players make a real impact in our first team”
- They round off the statement saying “Let’s look forward to a strong new-look team” next season
