THE sacking of Brian McDermott raises further questions about the direction Reading FC are heading under the current Thai owners.

McDermott was brought in as a steadying influence in the dugout after Steve Clarke lost his job in December.

Given he had already won the Championship title in 2012 during his previous spell at the helm, McDermott was a popular choice with some supporters, but not with everyone.

Yet 161 days later and after a poor end to the league season that saw Royals labour to 17th in the table, the 55-year-old was cast aside last Friday, deemed not good enough to take the club forward and meet the Thai's high expectations.

I still firmly believe McDermott would have turned things around, given more time.

Let's face it, he inherited a squad from Clarke that was on the decline and top-loaded with loan players, many of whom failed to fire, none more so than Matej Vydra.

Then in January he stood by as the club sold his leading goalscorer, Nick Blackman, to Championship rivals Derby County.

Yes, Royals made a tidy profit on the £4 million sale, but hardly any of that cash was given to McDermott to reinvest in the team.

Instead, the Thais handed him cut-price Deniss Rakels from Polish club Cracovia, a player he hadn't asked for.

The result was an unbalanced team that struggled to win matches. Fans began to lose their patience. Attendances dropped to an 12-year low.

Admittedly, McDermott did not always help himself by playing certain players out of position.

Good job though he did, Garath McCleary is not a right back. Simon Cox's best spot is not in central midfield and Danny Williams is wasted out on the right.

But my feeling is McDermott was simply trying new things in order to kick-start the season and find some level of consistency.

It may not have worked, but the easy thing to have done would be to carry on regardless and hope results improved.

Instead, he tweaked things here and there, restored Ali Al Habsi as his first-choice keeper and attempted to breathe life into a flagging side.

Believe me, nobody cared more about the team than McDermott.

He put his heart and soul into the job, despite being treated shabbily by Reading back in 2012 when he was sacked the first time by former owner Anton Zingarevich, as decision I always disagreed with.

No doubt being sacked a second time by the club which launched his managerial career will be a major kick in the teeth.

That is a real shame became McDermott played a key role in shaping Reading's identity over more than a decade.

He was heavily involved during the two most successful periods in the club's history – promotion to the Premier League in 2006 when chief scout, and in 2012 when he was manager.

Sadly, that history of success and deep insight into the culture of the club also went with him.

So, too, has the club's identity.

There is no longer a 'Reading Way.'

You have to wonder if Director of Football Nick Hammond knew what was coming when he left to join West Bromwich Albion recently after 20-years with Royals.

Had he become disillusioned with the lack of progress under the Thai owners? Did he feel his role was becoming redundant, given the club were purchasing players themselves without his or the manager's input?

None of that will have helped.

Of course, the wholesale changes behind the scenes do not end there either.

Ian Wood-Smith served on the board of directors with distinction for 22 years before his recent departure via the back door, with not so much as a 'thanks for your service' statement from the Royals.

As well as McDermott going, Reading are also without an assistant manager following Chris Davies' decision to hook up with Brendan Rodgers at Celtic.

In addition, the squad is in need of a rebuild after nine players left at the end of last season.

It all adds up to an incredibly unsettling period for Reading fans.

Once upon a time there was a great deal more transparency.

Sir John Madejski was a public face and did a remarkable job in turning a debt-ridden club into a Premier League outfit with a brand new stadium.

Sadly, Madejski has stopped bankrolling the team and taken more of a back seat.

The future looked bright again under Zingarevich when Royals returned to the top flight in 2012.

But his lavish spending left the club heavily in debt when he departed in June 2014.

Now the Thais are in charge, but they do not have the same affinity with the Royals as Madejski once did.

The three major shareholders, Narin Niruttinanon, co-chairwoman Khunying Sasima Srivikorn and Sumrith ‘Tiger’ Thanakarnjanasuth rarely attend matches.

Pairoj Piempongsant, the man now in charge of buying players with the help of new Sporting Director Brian Tevreden, does go along more regularly, but not all the time.

Where this new-look structure will take the Royals remains to be seen, but there have already been whispers suggesting the Thai owners are ready to sell up.

In the meantime, the search for a new manager begins in earnest, with Jaap Stam, Avram Grant and Milinko Pantic among the front runners.

Personally, I don't think any of them are better suited to Reading than McDermott was.

But the decision to sack him has been made so it's back to the drawing board ahead of a pivotal summer in the history of the Royals.

What do you think? Leave a comment below.