READING FC boss Paul Clement joked that his job is safe for another week thanks to their 3-2 victory over Bristol City.

Clement’s position looked under threat after four defeats in five Championship games left Reading marooned in the relegation zone.

It was feared that defeat to the Robins on Saturday could have led to Clement’s dismissal amid speculation suggesting Steve Bruce was being lined up as his replacement.

But Royals emerged victorious in a five-goal thriller to secure back-to-back home wins for only the second time during Clement’s reign and claim a third victory in four games at Madejski Stadium.

When asked what the victory meant to him, Clement replied: “I think I can stay another week, which is nice.

“It was an important result, we had lost the previous two games, we were in the bottom three and still are, though it’s a little bit tighter so we’re not stranded.

“It was really important for everyone at the club from our owners right through to me and the players.

“A lot of pressure has been building because of performances and results, so it’s a really good feeling to win at home and hopefully we can use it as a bit of a springboard now which is something we haven’t managed to do so far this season.”

Reading, who handed a full league debut to 21-year-old Andy Rinomhota, were pegged back twice by Lee Johnson’s visitors during a rollercoaster first half.

Yakou Meite gave Royals a seventh-minute lead with his fourth goal in four games only for Marlon Pack to equalise on 23 minutes.

Liam Kelly’s 25-yard rocket put Reading back in front during first-half injury-time, but Josh Brownhill levelled barely two minutes later to make it 2-2 at the break.

However, Leandro Bacuna’s 66th-minute striker proved to be the winner, though City saw Brownhill hit the post late on and substitute Andreas Weimann was denied by a sensational Sam Walker save at the death to secure all three points.

Clement added: “I thought the commitment was brilliant. The margins were very fine at the end when Bristol City had a couple of good attempts, hit the post and we got a couple of vital blocks in.

“The players stood up and were counted, you’ve got to do that. We led twice and they came back twice but we didn’t let it affect us.

“We continued to attack, and from that point of view it’s another three goals and we are scoring regularly. Our record compared to any Championship team is sound.

“The issue is defending and a couple of mistakes made it much closer than it should have been. When we address the defensive side, I’m sure we will climb the table.”

Clement will be hoping his side can claim back-to-back Championship wins for the first time this season when they host basement boys Ipswich Town this Saturday (3pm) before a fortnight’s international break.