Reading’s Championship status was confirmed on Tuesday night when Millwall slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, meaning they couldn’t catch Steve Clarke’s side even if they won their remaining two games.

It was hoped that they'd push on and take advantage of their safety to play with freedom on Wednesday night but their league woes continued as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Birmingham City.

It has been a long, testing season for Reading fans, who witnessed their team take just seven points from their 10 league games before their FA Cup semi final against Arsenal.

But a campaign of frustration was all forgotten on Saturday as Reading produced a magnificent performance against the Gunners to go within a whisker of rewriting the history books and earning themsevles a spot in next month’s FA Cup final.

The Royals fell agonisingly short in the end but, after a season of discontent among fans, the display from the Royals that took to the Wembley field went a long way to putting that right and drawing supporters back in.

Keen lavished praise on the 33,000 boisterous Reading fans that didn’t stop singing throughout and promised them a much better performance in the league next season – if they’re there to push the Royals on.

“I thought the supporters were amazing,” he said. “I went to Wembley with Liverpool before and their fans were fantastic, but I have to say I thought the Reading fans were absolutely unbelievable.

“I understand that between now and the end of the season things will be a little bit different, but I hope they all get down to the Madejski Stadium next year because I’m sure the club will have a good season under Steve Clarke.” He added: “The cup run has been fantastic. Every match and performance in the cup has been really, really good.

“It’s in the league where we need to shake it up a little bit and make sure we’re challenging next year.” Clarke surprised most critics by electing a 4-4-2 formation instead of packing the midfield. But it nearly had the desired effect as Reading were rarely troubled at the back.

In the end, it was a rare Adam Federici mistake that settled the tie and Keen was quick to defend the Royals’ potential Player of the Season.

“Adam has been magnificent for the club for many, many years and he was great on Saturday,” he added. “He made a fantastic save from Gabriel’s header.

“Unfortunately football can be cruel at times but we’ll look after him.

He’s been a fantastic servant for the club and he’s a strong character. We were giving our best and holding our own. The two banks of four worked really well. It was great planning but we just fell by the wayside despite our best efforts. We’re gutted but very proud of the players and how they played.” Clarke echoed Keen’s thoughts and reiterated the need for the club to build on Saturday’s showing to ensure they move forward in future – and shake off the disappointment suffered over the last three years.

“It’s been three years of disappointment and we have to break that run,” said the Royals boss.

“We have to get a positivity around Reading Football Club, and hopefully the game at the weekend – although we lost – can be a new start.

“Coming is an outsider not involved in the disappointments, it was very noticeable to me.

“So we have to learn how to win again. We’ll come back in pre-season re-energised and positive we can have a good campaign next season.”