Di Canio responds to speculation

After the Italian was spotted at the Madejski Stadium against Villa last week, Paolo Di Canio has revealed why he was in Berkshire.

However, the real reason that the 44-year old was watching Brian McDermott’s last game as Royals manager had nothing to do with the currently vacant space of the Reading manager. Instead, the former West Ham player stated that he is circling Premier League games at the moment, while he is not in work.

Speaking to BBC Sport about the recent talk surrounding the vacant Reading post, the former Swindon boss said: ‘It was just a coincidence. I was there only to watch the game. It is my ambition to manage at the top level. I was sat with Stuart Pearce at Reading and we had some discussions about the game.’

‘I want to watch games at the top level and [the Madejski Stadium] was full of passion, so it was good to go there. Next time it could be Swansea or Southampton or Tottenham, I don’t know, but this is what I am going to do for the next few weeks.’

Who are we to believe? Di Canio is still one of the front runners for the job, but reports have stated that some of the Reading squad have warned of an adverse reaction if the controversial figure was to take charge at the helm of Reading.

Wiki page: Paolo Di Canio