‘We continue to face a number of significant challenges’ - Portsmouth, Derby County and Charlton Athletic rivals detail financial issues amid EFL breach

The Royals were charged with multiple violations of EFL Regulations on Friday, after they failed to pay players’ wages on or around October 31, 2022, November 30, 2022 and April 28, 2023.

Meanwhile, club owner Yongge Dai was also charged with causing the club to be in breach of the rules, despite his commitment to fund the cash requirements at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The Chinese businessman and the Royals have until 4pm on Thursday June 29 to respond to the Football League.

Last term, Reading were slapped with a six point deduction in the Championship they violated terms of an agreed business plan for a previous profit and sustainability rule breach. They are yet to be docked points in League One this term for their latest offence.

The Berkshire outfit are also in search of a new manager following the breakdown in talks with Chris Wilder. Former Pompey duo Steve Cotterill and Danny Cowley are both reportedly under consideration.

In a statement, CEO Pang revealed the latest details on his side’s search for a new boss – and also outlined the financial issues surrounding the Royals.

On the club website, he said: ‘I would personally like to thank all our supporters for their patience last season and throughout the summer so far.

‘Mr Dai personally attended both home and away matches on many occasions last season and, as a supporter of this football club himself, he was very disappointed to see the campaign end in relegation. It is not what we planned, it is not what we hoped for, it is not what we expected.

‘Following the six points taken from our total, our season quickly became another very difficult one for the players, the staff and most importantly our fans. And that is why this update has to begin with a note of sincere gratitude to our loyal supporters!

‘When we said we would fix the issues of the past and build this club back to a level at which we all want to see it compete, we knew it was going to be a long-term project. We hoped to avoid serious setbacks like last season, but despite the very best efforts of so many, this was not possible.

‘As a club, financially we continue to face a number of significant challenges and our owner, Mr Dai, is working very hard to resolve those issues to ensure the future of Reading Football Club is stable, successful, progressive and positive.‘Our short-term goal is now clear though…to appoint the right man for the role of first team manager and to rebuild a squad capable of competing for a return to the Championship!

‘Long term, I am confident we have the right people at the club to achieve our ambitions and fully correct the mistakes that were made many years ago.’