Former Reading boss Brendan Rodgers claims he was not given long enough to be a success at the Championship club. Rodgers was sacked last week after less than six months in post and admits that he was shocked to be told the news.

He told the Reading Evening Post: "If I'd known I would only be given six months then I would have done things differently, but they didn't really give me a chance.

"I never felt pressure in the job, I wanted the club to be successful and the January transfer window was my only opportunity to put things right. It still doesn't rack up.

"We had had some bad results, but we were progressing. It always felt like I was being told to rebuild and given the confidence to do that.

"Not once was I told that my job was in jeopardy. So the day I walked into that meeting last week, my first feeling was shock. The night before we had had the Christmas party for the whole club and everything there was fine."