Royals suffered their fourth straight defeat courtesy of second-half strikes from Matt Derbyshire and Lee Frecklington, which ensured Rotherham secured their Championship status.

Oliver Norwood's late effort was merely a consolation for the Royals although it was their first goal in 491 minutes of league football.

The defeat means Clarke's side have picked up just 10 points from a possible 48 which is relegation form over a third of the season.

But the Royals boss was keen to rule out the possibility of relegation next season, insisting he knows what is wrong and asking the fans to trust him to get it right.

“We're not going to finish in the bottom three and we won't be near the bottom three either,” he declared. “I can promise the supporters that next year will be better. They have to stick with us.

“They have to believe that we know what is wrong and it's going to be a busy summer for us.

“There's more than one problem. There's lots and lots of problems. I'm very clear in my own mind what I have to do in the summer.

“I hope I get 100% backing from the board and I promise the supporters that next season will be better than this.” Clarke again pinpointed the first goal as the turning point in the contest and said the reaction from his side was again lacking.

“We were looking comfortable,” he said. “We weren't under any pressure but Michael Hector made a mistake when trying to bring the ball down instead of heading it away and we lost a soft goal.

“The reaction to that was poor and then we lost another goal before having a go but we don't look a massive threat.

“The forward players have lost a bit of confidence as they know everyone is talking about them and it's difficult for everybody at the moment.”