Jaap Stam: Reading manager leaves with club 20th in Championship
Last updated on .From the section Reading
Championship club Reading have parted company with manager Jaap Stam after a run of just one win in 18 league games.
Former Manchester United and Netherlands defender Stam, 45, led the club to the Championship play-off final in his first season at the club.
But poor results this term have seen Reading slip to 20th, within three points of the relegation zone.
Saturday's 3-2 defeat by Norwich City left the Royals without a win in their past nine Championship matches.
"Sometimes there's a new direction necessary in a club and the tide has to change," Stam told Dutch football publication Voetbal International.
"This can happen once in a while in a young manager's career and especially in the Championship, where clubs are changing managers more and more often."
Majority shareholders Mr Yongge Dai and Ms Xiu Li Dai said in a statement the club had "wanted to give Jaap every opportunity to turn around what has been a difficult and challenging Championship campaign".
"After careful consideration, the decision has been made that a change is now necessary," it added. "We will now focus on identifying and recruiting the right person to take the club forward."
Reading gave Stam his first coaching role in English football and he signed a new contract running until the end of the 2018-19 season in July after being linked with potential vacancies in the Premier League.
But, his departure eight months later leaves the Royals seeking their fifth managerial appointment since Brian McDermott's first spell at the club ended in March 2013.
Reading's next match is on Friday, 30 March against QPR at the Madejski Stadium and the club are yet to appoint a caretaker manager.
"Last season, we did exceptionally well and we tried to stand out in the Championship with our style of play," former Ajax assistant manager Stam said.
"This season, we wanted to make further steps, but due to various reasons, this didn't happen. It's a real shame as Reading is a wonderful club and I really wish them well."
Analysis
Tim Dellor, BBC Radio Berkshire sports editor
We have been waiting for this news for a while as the form has been dire in the past three months.
I think most Reading fans would have anticipated this news a long time ago. The club, the board and the owners have been incredibly slow to react.
Most clubs would have got rid of their manager way before now had the form been as bad as this.
Finally the decision has come. Whether it was too late or the correct decision, time will tell.
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So who next and how long to put them in place.
Cotterill, McClaren and Warburton are available.
The thing is, even the great Brian Clough would have struggled to turn that lot around.
Can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
Players just not good enough
Just don't hire Harry Redknapp for the love of God!
It's not. But they still manage to shoehorn the words Manchester United into the article's second sentence.
Agreed with regards Bosman, the game has suffered since that awful time, shocking player power now, especially at the top of the game.
Could do a lot worse than bring in Steve Mclaren. Bags of experience, managed at the top level, managed overseas, managed at International level
You missed the bit that he failed everywhere except at Twente. However, he did go back to Twente and failed at his second attempt.
If he is appointed then the board need to be locked in a padded cell.
The name Reading come from the name of an Anglo-Saxon tribe that settled there, meaning Reada's people in Old English, so Reading is first, and the term reading came second.
As to Jaap Stam, I am glad the owners took it as far as they could. We see what happens when a club is trigger happy. When he was not interviewed Saturday I knew he had given up