PAUL McShane revealed he was stunned by the public reaction to his on-field bust-up with Reading FC team-mate Danny Williams, writes Anthony Smith.

The pair clashed during the latter stages of Tuesday night's 2-1 defeat at Championship leaders Middlesbrough.

Their actions were widely condemned by the majority of Royals fans on social media, while boss Brian McDermott has confirmed they have both been fined and disciplined by the club.

Skipper McShane says he and midfielder Williams have patched up their differences and that there are 'no hard feelings' between them.

The Republic of Ireland defender also felt some of the criticism they received was over the top.

“Yesterday was madness, I couldn't believe the reaction,” declared McShane at this morning's Hogwood Park press conference.

“It was one of those things where Danny and I had words on the pitch and there was a coming together.

“We're both very passionate players and maybe it spilt over a little bit, but then it was done. We got back into position and got on with the game.

“Danny is a very passionate fella and I love his passion. It just spilled over because we wanted to win the game so much.

“It wasn't as though we went to Middlesbrough to make up the numbers, we went to win.

“Were were in good flow at the time and we could both feel it, so it was just one of those heat of the moment things.

“It was all done and dusted after the game, there was nothing in it. It was totally blown out of all proportion yesterday.”

Video replays show the pair coming together with 10 minutes remaining in the match at Riverside.

The incident was not spotted by referee Scott Duncan, though the Football Association could yet investigate.

“Football has changed with social media and everything,” added McShane. “Back in the Seventies, Eighties and even Nineties, things were happening that were ten times as bad but weren't caught on camera.

“Social media is great to because you get to hear people's opinions, but it can also blow things out of proportion, and I think that's what happened here.

“It was a minor things. Danny and I were speaking on Wednesday and we couldn't believe what was being made of it.”

And he also quipped: “You should watch a Wicklow Gaelic Football game. There are referees being locked in car boots and everything.

“This was just unfortunate it happened on the pitch and the cameras caught it.

“The club has taken action against the two of us, but there are no hard feelings or anything like that.”

Reading were drawing 1-1 with title-chasing Boro at the time after Simon Cox's first goal of the season cancelled out Emilio's Nsue's opener.

But Adam Forshaw grabbed an injury-time winner for the hosts only moments after Matej Vydra had spurned a gilt-edged chance to win it for the Royals.

The defeat left McDermott's men 14th in the Championship table ahead of a tough trip to Leeds United this Saturday (3pm ko).

And McShane admits this season has not lived up to expectations.

“Like myself, Danny wants to do really well,” he explained. “A footballer's career is short so it feels a bit like the season has been wasted.

“We could have really cracked on and achieved something, but we never found any consistency.

“We were on a great run, hit a wall and never really recovered.

“We should be higher than 14th in the table but it's been too up and down.

“There are five games left and we need to finish on a high note to gather some momentum going into the next pre-season.”

McDermott confirmed Chris Gunter (groin) and Jordan Obita (hamstring) are likely to miss Saturday's clash at Elland road, with Andrew Taylor and Garath McCleary set to fill the full-back roles.

Striker Yann Kermorgant is also unavailable as his wife is due to give birth.