WE crashed back down to earth when an abysmal afternoon at Fulham ended our wonderful winning streak.

A weird Chris Gunter own goal started the onslaught then one of the worst performances I’ve seen in a long time followed after the interval.

Four Fulham goals, a dismissal for Danny Williams and some calamitous passing made for a miserable afternoon in west London for myself and 3,000 travelling fans.

We could barely put three passes together before losing the ball to some high Fulham pressure throughout the game.

A number of Royals fans made their way out of the stadium long before the final whistle and many were quick to criticise Jaap Stam on social media - and rightly so!

However, a five-game winning streak beforehand means we’re still high-flying in third place in the Championship, six points behind leaders Newcastle United.

Royals fans must remain positive. I understand a heavy defeat is hard to take and most will call for big changes for the next game against Sheffield Wednesday.

But we mustn’t panic. It is a blip (alright, a big blip), but it’s better to have an upset now than right at the end of the season.

Many were optimistic about our promotion chances before Saturday. However, with just one proven striker and a shaky midfield at times, we were never going to walk this league.

We must strengthen in January and I’d say the same if we’d won against Fulham.

Up next is a home game against Sheffield Wednesday and both players and managers have reiterated the need for a strong bounce-back performance.

Wednesday, currently sixth just three points behind us, are looking strong and they will provide a stern test.

On a more positive note, Reading go to Stam’s old club Manchester United for our third-round FA Cup tie in January.

We have beaten United in the FA Cup before so don’t be so glum. That was way back in 1927 we won 2-1 at Villa Park in a third-round replay. So all we have to do is get Mourinho’s team back to Madejski and we might just go on another cup run!