DAVID Meyler admits he and his teammates have 'not hit the standards' expected of them this season after Royals slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Bolton Wanderers.

The result on Saturday resigned Reading to their worst start to a campaign since 1959, with Paul Clement's side sitting one off the bottom of the Championship.

Substitute Yanic Wildschut ended a 10-year record when he came off the bench to put the Trotters ahead after the break, earning Bolton their first win against Reading in more than a decade.

Irish midfielder Meyler was left feeling 'bitterly disappointed' after the match and said the players needed to do more.

He said: "That’s three games we’ve lost and the manager has every right to be annoyed. I’m annoyed, every player is annoyed. It is not good enough.

"We are bitterly disappointed, frustrated. I could go through so many different adjectives, but there is no point in moaning and groaning, because we need to work harder.

"That’s down to the players. We have not hit the standards the manager wants from us and we have not done enough in games to win them.

"You need to work and you need to move the ball quicker."

Reading stuck with the striking partnership of Sam Baldock and Marc McNulty, which served them well in the Carabao Cup victory over Birmingham City in the week.

However, they were lacking impetus down the left wing without an injured Mo Barrow.

A number of other players, including Tiago Ilori and Sam Walker, were dropped from the 2-0 League Cup win.

Royals were by far the more attacking force in the first half and worked good openings through the pace of Baldock and tenacity of John Swift.

But the goal, which came only three minutes into the second half, set the tone for the rest of the match.

It was, however, a happy return to the Madejski for Phil Parkinson, who achieved his first win against Reading as a manager in six attempts against his old club.

Meyler believes the side did enough to take away all three points and urged the fans to be patient through these tough times.

He added: "Today they [Bolton] went long and tried to catch us on the break, but we need to deal with it.

"I don’t think we should have lost the game. I’m annoyed.

"I think we did enough to win the game. They had the chance in the second half and they took it.

"Every game is tough, home or away. The Championship is very competitive, but we are not out of this yet, believe me.

"We’ve got a good team, a good manager and good players."