Reading boss Ruben Selles labelled a rotten run in October 'the hardest moment' of the season when reflecting on the campaign.

The Royals, who had a disrupted pre-season amid non-stop off-field drama, failed to hit the ground running upon relegation to the third tier, sitting bottom of the table and cut adrift in a bleak mid-winter.

Failing to win from September 16 until November 25, a run of seven defeats and two draws, the club looked doomed for relegation and endured late defeats at Shrewsbury and Leyton Orient as well as heavy defeats to Charlton Athletic and Blackpool.

As the saying goes, it is darkest before dawn and Reading rallied over the international break in November to return a revived force and slowly overturn a 10-point deficit to end nine points clear of the relegation zone come the final day.

Reflecting on the season ahead of last week's 3-2 win over Blackpool, which marked the end of Selles' debut season in charge, the Spaniard labelled it the 'hardest' moment of the year.

"In the period where we lost six out of seven matches, it was not that we were massively exposed it was just some key moments that we needed to do a little bit differently and keep our identity the same," he mused.

"That was a moment we needed to make the changes and I think it worked. This was around October or November and was the hardest moment for us, the period before Wycombe away."

A 2-1 win at Adam's Park in November marked the first win for over two months and the first win away from home in 378 days, sparking jubilant scenes from the staff and supporters.

Reading lost just once in December and once again in January to battle back from the brink.