Six senior players have left the Royals since May as Jobi McAnuff, Mikele Leigertwood, Wayne Bridge, Kaspars Gorkss and Stuart Taylor were released, whilst Adam Le Fondre was sold to Cardiff City to help pay a looming tax bill.

It has been a difficult task for Adkins to rebuild his squad, with no signings possible until an agreement is reached over the ownership of the club between Sir John Madejski and Samrit Bunditkitsada.

Nine youth players have been promoted to the first-team in a bid to bolster the squad, leaving the average age of the Royals at a mere 22 years.

And despite being impressed with the attitude and ability of the younger players, Adkins admits going one step further than last season will be a tough ask.

Speaking to the Chronicle: “We’ve got to be realistic of where we are at this moment in time. It’s going to be a big ask to get in those automatic promotion places.

“Let’s not shy away from it, it’s going to be a big challenge but we’ve got a good group of players and we’re trying to build for the future.

“Everyone wants success straight away but first and foremost we must make sure there’s stability and infrastructure in place and we can then make sure we aren’t in the financial position we were in this season, where we had to sell a top striker.

“All being well, the ownership situation will be resolved and that will provide stability at the football club.”

The stability that Adkins talks about will more than likely arrive when a deal is struck to enable Bunditkitsada to take control of the club.

But the Royals boss is concentrating solely on what is happening on the field, as he works with his squad ahead of the new season.

He added: “We’ve got a group that are working extremely hard so from my point of view, until the ownership situation is resolved, I’m concentrating on getting this squad ready for the new season and we’re very excited about that.

“We’ve promoted nine of the Under 21s to the senior group and for now, this is where we are. We’re building a team and trying to bond a team ready for the start of the season.”

Bunditkitsada’s takeover attempt is still the subject of the Football League’s Owners and Directors Test.

The Thai billionaire said on Facebook this week: “I am so sorry that I can not talk much about Reading FC and this deal because of my lawyer’s warning. Hopefully I can finish the deal very soon.”