The Royals boss this week confirmed he wants to sign one or two more players before the January transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday.

Clarke has already added Nathaniel Chalobah and Jure Travner to his squad, but since bringing in Chelsea loanee Chalobah he has suffered frustration in his attempt to attract more players.

And his hopes of luring ex-Crystal Palace loan striker Glenn Murray back to the Madejski Stadium for a second spell were dashed earlier today when the 31-year-old signed a new one-year contract at Selhurst Park.

However, things can move quickly at this time of the transfer window and Clarke says he has other targets to pursue.

“If we get the opportunity to do business then I’d love the opportunity to it before Monday,” he said. “As the deadline gets closer you start to get a little bit stressed as to whether deals will go through or not.

“It’ll be much better to be in a position where any business we can do is done before Monday.

“If it’s not then we’ll be looking all day Monday which is part of the job.”

Clarke admits his experience of being at the forefront of transfer deadline day is limited due to the majority of his previous roles being as a coach or assistant manager.

The 51-year-old was present for three transfer windows at West Brom, and he was open and honest about how frantic it can be.

“Deals can happen very quickly and come out of nowhere,” he explained. “You can think you’ve got someone in then suddenly you’ve lost them.

“If my experience at my previous clubs are anything to go by then it can be a very eventful day.

“It’s always hard to predict how busy it’ll be. Sometimes one transfer at a certain club can trigger a little avalanche but I’m looking for a nice quiet day with the business hopefully done.”

As the transfer window edges closer to being shut, clubs can sometimes panic and pay over the odds for a player in a late attempt to salvage a deal.

Reading are almost certainly not in a position to do that due to their well-documented cash restrictions under Financial Fair Play rules.

However, Clarke says he will let Royals' hierarchy sort out the details of any deals.

“Not many managers in modern day football that get involved with that,” he explained. “It’s handled by the business guys. I’ll have a part to play but it’s up to them to get the deals over the line.”

Reading will be aiming to improve on their 0-0 draw at 10-man Millwall on Tuesday night when they host Sheffield Wednesday at Madejski Stadium this Saturday (3pm ko).