Reading FC fans have reacted to the news after Noel Hunt was dismissed as first-team manager by club chairman Rob Couhig.
Couhig put out a statement on Sunday afternoon to alert fans that he had taken the difficult decision to terminate Hunt’s contract with the club with the team sitting in 19th place in League One.
Many fans had begun to voice their concerns over the past few weeks and had suggested that the club needed to make a change, while some still kept their faith in their former player despite some disappointing results and performances.
Couhig had also given strong backing to Hunt just a few weeks back in a Q&A session with the fans, but decided that now was the time to make a change.
Fans took to social media to react to the news with some showing their backing for Hunt.
One user on Facebook said: “1871 fans you have got your wish. It’s a disgrace your chanting at the match yesterday. Actually you lot are first to leave the ground when things aren’t going well. It was an awful game yesterday (Saturday) agree but we all seem to have very short memories.”
Another fan said: “Thanks are due to Noel. A true servant of the club. Let’s hope the next manager gets more support from the owners.”
Another also showed their support for Hunt and added: “Sad to see him leave, I personally don’t think it’s totally Hunt’s fault the players we’ve bought in just haven’t been up to standard compared to the ones that left and we bought them in very late in the day, saying that it is a results based business.
However, there were also plenty of fans who have backed the decision by the club.
One user on X said: “Correct decision. Wish Noel the absolute best for the future, but his position was increasingly untenable. Players look fed up and we’re making poor teams look like Barcelona.”
Another added: “Appreciate Hunt for all he’s done, desperately wanted him to work out as he is one of us, the owners let him down in the window for sure, that said this squad has the talent to be way higher than we are, we’re not in a position to have a manager learn their trade right now.”
Another said: “Well done Rob Couhig dealt with a lot of class something we lost for many years under our previous ownerships not an easy decision to make. I’m sure a lot of our fans who called for this a long time ago will say it’s too late but being lightly more pragmatic isn’t always a bad thing.”
Another fan added: “Right decision, but sad it’s come to this – whilst I would have loved to see him succeed as manager given his history and association with the club, it clearly wasn’t working out. Hopefully we can find a suitable role for him in the future.”
