'Hell': Former Southampton boss on suffering Fratton pain as Portsmouth put Reading put to sword

Ruben Selles admitted Reading were plunged into Fratton hell by Pompey’s brutal attacking display.

And the Royals boss insisted his side should have been a couple of goals up, as they dominated early on in their eventual 4-1 reverse.

The former Southampton manager faced a rough ride at Fratton Park, with his misery compounded by what he saw as his team falling away from a place of control in the game.

Selles said: 'They gave us a good game. I know what I have in that dressing room and we can compete. They gave me everything and it's hard to give that performance and lose with the four goals.

'From the very beginning, they showed that we came here to compete and try to win the game. I cannot throw anything on them, they gave me everything. You need to process it because it’s hard to make that kind of performance and lose by four goals, but we will get the best of it and be ready for Tuesday.

'We are learning what it is to play against the best teams with quality, out of nowhere they can score a goal - and then you are in hell.

'They had the quality to score from nowhere. We were 4-0 down without knowing how they scored those three or four goals.

‘If we took our chances in the first 20 minutes the game is completely different.'

Selles felt Reading were successful in bringing an expansive game and impressing it on Pompey for the first period, though he accepted his side made mistakes they needed to learn from.

He added: 'I think we dominated the first half and the chances. I thought they were lucky to not be 2-0 down. 

'After 20 minutes we had all the chances, and they didn’t even have a shot on target.  We came here trying to be the protagonists and play our football. I think we did it. 

'They scored the first goal at the end of the first half, and I think we continued to do our job. The second goal let us down. It can happen, conceding four goals, because they have the quality. I am proud of the fight. 

'There are moments we can be better otherwise we wouldn't concede four goals, but we came here with an attitude and a way to do things and we proved we can compete against those teams.'