League One Reading appoint former Southampton manager as new boss

Reading have appointed Ruben Selles as manager ahead of their return to League One – subject to the club’s successful application for a work visa.

The application was submitted at the end of last week and the club now awaits a decision on his work visa before he is able to get to work on revitalising this Royals squad and recruiting players to be part of the rebuild following relegation from the Championship.

Having not had a career as a player, Selles took his Uefa Pro Licence aged 25 and became a youth coach at Villarreal before taking on roles in Greece, Russia and Azerbaijan – where he was assistant manager at Qarabag.

The 40-year-old managed Southampton in the Premier League last season after taking the reins from Nathan Jones, but he was unable to save them from relegation. He left Saints at the end of the season after being told his contract would not be renewed.

Reading sacked Paul Ince in April and their final five games were under interim manager Noel Hunt, who stepped up from his role as Under-21s head coach. However, the Royals will be playing in the third tier for the first time in 22 years next season after suffering relegation from the Championship.

The club were deducted six points last season and are currently under an embargo from the English Football League for breaching the terms of a business plan for a previous profit and sustainability rule infringement.

They are due to visit Northampton at Sixfields in October.