The surprising news came through this morning that Jaap Stam has finally left the Royals, due to our dreadful form of one win in 19 games – but what’s next with eight games to play?
The Dutchman continued in the role, despite having many call for his head many months ago, but it appears the Norwich loss on Saturday was the final straw. The results had been poor and performances even worse, but despite this, it was still a surprise to see him relieved of his duties.
Stam enjoyed 40 wins in 98 games in charge and had a miraculous first season in the last campaign, where we were two kicks away from the Premier League. However, it’s fair to say this season was quite the opposite, as we are currently hovering just three points above the drop zone.
The club haven’t given any hints on a timescale of a new manager, but the betting market is moving fairly quickly. The clear favourite at the moment with most bookies is former Derby and Swansea boss Paul Clement, who is an outright and clear favourite with some – smoke and fire?
The other candidates include Royals legend and current Rangers manager Graham Murty, former Brentford and Forest boss Mark Warburton and a rather ambitious candidate in Marco Silva. I’m unsure there will be some developments in the next 48 hours, and we’ll assess some candidates in the meantime.
