Reading FC assistant manager Alex Rae insists that interim-manager Paul Ince is "sport mad."

Assisting former England midfielder Ince at all of his clubs, Rae revealed that they 'didn't have much time for each other' until becoming teammates at Wolves in 2002.

However they are now unseparable are discovering that they are 'very similar'.

 

Reading Chronicle:

 

Speaking ahead of the final home game of the 2021/22 season, Rae said: "Before the international break we had just beaten Blackburn and I said to Incey that I woke up through the night and it was still two weeks until the Barnsley game. I was thinking what do we do, how do we go about preparation, so we’re in the door for five minutes and we’re already totally invested in the challenge.

"He said the same thing, it was almost as if we were trying to beat each other to who woke up the earliest.

"When I was driving down, I was thinking it was a couple of months, but you really get invested. You think about what kind of frame of mind are you coming in to, but I have to say the players have been brilliant.

 

READ MORE: Reading FC manager heaps praise on interim coaching staff

 

"I was thinking to myself it would take a bit of time to get into the swing, but it didn’t work that way. Prior to meeting Paul, we didn’t have a great deal of time for each other but when we became teammates, we were very similar. I was kidding myself that I wouldn’t get as invested as I normally would.

"He’s an anorak. We will watch football and there will be two iPad’s and the tv, so three games. He is football mad, and his knowledge is incredible. He knows the game inside out, so from that point of view its decent.

"Sometimes I want to go to bed, and he is sat there watching all these games. Thomas is the same, it must run in the family. If there’s no football it’s snooker or F1, so he’s sport mad."

 

Reading Chronicle:

 

Alongside Rae, Royal legends Michael Gilkes and Mikele Leigertwood have taken up roles with the first team.

Knowing the club inside and out after playing for many years and having roles with the Academy, Rae has called their insight 'invaluable' since arriving in February.

Rae added: "It's been great because they were giving us a lowdown on the personel and their characters because they’ve been here for a longer period. Without them it would’ve been difficult"