JAAP Stam is confident his Reading FC players will learn some valuable lessons from their 4-0 FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.

Royals were comprehensively beaten by Jose Mourinho's star-studded side in Saturday's third-round clash at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton's all-time United goalscoring record when he fired the hosts into a seventh-minute lead.

A nightmare start for Royals continued when Anthony Martial added a second eight minutes later to give Stam's men a mountain to climb.

And though Reading showed a dramatic improvement over the next hour, Marcus Rashford made it 3-0 in the 75th minute and then scored again four minutes later following an Ali Al-Habsi blunder to seal United's place in the next round.

It was a chastening defeat for Stam on his return to Old Trafford, but the former Manchester United treble-winner believes his players will benefit in the long run as they look to maintain their promotion challenge in the Championship.

Here's what he told the press after the game:

What did you make of the experience?

Jaap Stam: “I think it was a great experience. It's not only a good experience if you win games but also when you lose games.

“When you think about the past couple of seasons and finishing 17th and 19th in the Championship to where we are now sitting third in the league while trying to play a certain style of football, growing as club and also as a team, I think we have made progress.

“We've done well in the league and when you get a chance to play against a side of Manchester United's quality near the top of the Premier League and one of the best teams in Europe. There is quite a big difference between the two teams.

“Playing against a side like United is good for the players, but you need to be aggressive and very sharp from the very start.

“They have pace and quality and you cannot give them too much space and time on the ball. In the first 15 or 20 minutes they had that, they will make it very difficult for you.

“Of course, I hate losing and I hated losing this match, even against a side like United.

“But it's all about what players do with it and whether they can improve individually and do better.”

Will your players take the defeat as a positive?

JS: “I hope they'll take it. Every young boy wants to play at this level whether against or for teams like Manchester United.

“So players need to learn from these games and what they need to do to progress and become better players so eventually they reach the same level as the United players.”

How much did you miss Paul McShane?

JS: “Paul is, of course, very important for us. He's done a great job in terms of how we want to play at Reading and the mentality that he brings to the team.

“He has great qualities as a player, but we needed to make a decision. He broke his hand and needed an operation.

“We had to decide whether whether to miss the FA Cup game or miss more league games. The medical staff made the decision to do it now.”

Did it disrupt your preparations for Old Trafford?

JS: “Joey van den Berg has played in that position before and has done well. But it's not down to one man in terms of how you perform and how you start a game like this.

“When you play against a team like Manchester United you need to be very sharp and aggressive so you don't give them any space.

“In the first 20 minutes we were too easy going, we could have done a little bit more.

“If you give United time they will punish you and that's what they did.”

Did you feel your team backed off too much, particularly in that opening 20 minutes?

JS: “If you conceded two goals in the first 20 minutes you are going to try and keep going forward.

“In the second half United dropped in a little which gave us more time. We kept possession well at times but didn't create enough going forward.

“But when you lose possession you can leave yourself a little bit open and they got the third goal through Marcus Rashford who punished us with his pace.

“I told my players that when you are attacking a team like United you have to focus on the defensive side as well.”

What were the main positives for you on the day?

JS: “Certain players did very well and I can't blame my team for how they performed.. They worked very hard.

“We need to look at the video and study what United brought to the game.

“You may think they would want to slow things down against a team like us, but they didn't, they kept on going.

“That's what we need to learn from playing against a side like them.”

You could have gone to Old Trafford and put 10 men behind the ball, but did you want to play football?

JS: “We always want to play football and against a team like United you have nothing to lose.

“Everyone expected them to win so we wanted to give it a go.

“You want to play your own game and create chances to score, but you know it's going to be difficult.

“You can say whether the tactics were right or wrong, but we believe in our philosophy of how we want to play, even against a side like Manchester United.

“Of course you need to be careful, but we still try and play which makes it nice for the fans as well.”

As a young manager, will you learn from the experience?

JS: “I'm always learning. Being a player and a manager are totally different things.

“You need to learn how to communicate with the players and get them to improve or do things differently.

“Becoming a manager sounds easy if you have played at the top level, but it isn't. You need to grow into it.

“I played at the top level in Europe so I know what to expect. I know what players need to do and bring to the team to reach that level.

“We are doing okay in the Championship up until now when you compare our budget with that of other clubs.

“I'm happy with the players we have and the attitude within the team. But for us, competing against the likes of Manchester United is very difficult, we need to be realistic.”

What are your thoughts on Wayne Rooney equalling Sir Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record?

JS: “He's been a great player from the moment he arrived at Manchester United.

“He works very hard for the team, you saw that again on Saturday.

“When you combine that workrate with the qualities he has it makes him an outstanding player.

“It's no surprise he has scored that many goals. Even when United were 4-0 up against us he was still sprinting around the place.

“It's quite difficult to understand why people doubt him in terms of what he brings to the team. He's a quality player.”

Is Jose Mourinho bringing the fear-factor back to Manchester United?

JS: “They have a strong mentality now and if you keep winning games the belief gets bigger and bigger.

“He's the type of manager who stands up for his group of players and gives them confidence. He knows how to play and what they need to get results. Eventually he gets them.

“He also has a few pounds to spend on bringing in new players, and it's nice for a manager to be able to do that.

“Look at Louis Van Gaal when he was at United. I still think he's a great manager and he tried to play a certain way as well. It's not too different to how they play now in terms of the movement and possession they have.

“It's about getting players to perform for you and that is one of his many qualities as a manager.”

Was it nice to hear Manchester United fans singing your name again?

JS: “It's always great. My time at United was very important for me and my family.

“I enjoyed it and I won trophies. They gave me the chance to develop as a player and as a person in terms of how you need to act in life.

“To come back and get a reception like that was marvellous.”

You can now concentrate all your efforts on the Championship?

JS: “I'd rather have gone through to the next round of the FA Cup and have some extra games.

“But we take each match as it comes along. We're out of the cup so we must focus on the league and hopefully do well towards the end of the season.

“It's not going to be easy to win every game in the Championship because there is a lot of competition, but we will give it our best shot.”

What is the latest on Liverpool defender Tiago Ilori?

JS: “He's a player on our list, but you need to talk to Brian as to whether it's going to happen or not.”