Reading FC manager on owner Mr Dai and supporters after win

Rarely coming across since taking over the club in 2017, Mr Dai has come in for some flack from fans due to his silence for over five years.

Across in the UK for four weeks, Ince and Director of Football Operations Mark Bowen met him at the training ground and expects to have dinner before he heads back to China.

Speaking on the support from Dai, the former England captain beamed: "He was doing a 50-yard sprint down the touchline! The owner knows where we are. This afternoon when I spoke to him at the training ground, he knows the situation. The fact he is here with his entourage, you want to get a good result for him, and it worked. He was happy after the game and it’s nice to make people happy.

"You talk about managers being under pressure losing two or three games, the most important person is the owner, and he backs you. You saw with Veljko Paunovic, 10/11 defeats on the bounce and he backs you. He rarely comes over but when he does it’s great."

The fans themselves came in for plenty of praise too, particularly for how they tried to help goalkeeper Joe Lumley.

The on-loan stopper made two glaring errors on Saturday in the 4-0 defeat to Rotherham United, but fans helped him get back on track and keep a first clean sheet of the season against Rovers.

"The crowd were unbelieveable," he cooed. "I thought the crowd at Rotherham were amazing, especially towards our goalkeeper. I’ve heard all the stories and spoken to Joe about them trying to support him even though it was one of those day. You don’t get many fans like that, 4-0 down and still trying to support Joe Lumley, incredible fans.

"We know as a club- us, players, staff, we know where we are. We know it’s going to be tough, and we will need a siege mentality this season. The fans realise that I’m trying to bring us all together. You sensed from the first minute that they were with us, and if you know the fans are on your side you want to give your all."