Reading FC boss Veljko Paunovic insisted Royals deserved their 1-0 over Championship strugglers Barnsley at Select Car Leasing Stadium.

In spite of a below-par performance in front of goal, the home side claimed all three points thanks to a magical solo strike from John Swift.

The midfield talisman, who has eight goals in the competition already this term, kept his composure to round the goalkeeper after cutting in from the left and skipping past several challenges.

And Paunovic insisted it was no more than what his team deserved.

He said: “I think it’s a deserved win. The team worked hard. We were mature.

“We adjusted a couple of things at half time which we had struggled with, especially when we lost the ball.

“The first 15 minutes of the second half wasn’t good at all and we gave Barnsley a few opportunities.

“We tried set pieces, combinations, counter-attacks and playing over the top.

“Finally it came to us after a fantastic pass from Scott Dann and an amazing execution from Swift.”

Royals got off to a slow start and struggled to break Barnsley down.

They did have the ball in the back of the net in the firs half but it was chalked off for offside.

However, Paunovic insisted the linesman made the wrong call and that Tom Dele-Bashiru’s strike should have counted.

He continued: “We scored a goal which we later reviewed and it was onside.

“It should have been 1-0 in the first half. We were chasing that goal.”

Swift’s goal propelled Reading to seventh in the Championship table, just one point off of the play-off spots.

There is still no update on a reported points deduction the club may face.

Royals entertain Blackpool at home on Wednesday night (8pm ko) before facing a trip north to play Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

And Paunovic concluded: “We’re looking for another solid performance although we expect another difficult game.

“The difficulties will be very similar to what we saw against Barnsley but Blackpool play in a different way which we need to prepare for.”