Reading FC: Five things we learned from Royals' defeat to Bolton Wanderers

Trotters sub Yanic Wildschut grabbed the winning goal early in the second half to give former Royals skipper Phil Parkinson his first victory as a manager against his old club.

Reading have now lost their opening three fixtures of the Championship season after defeats to Derby County, Nottingham Forest and Bolton.

Their poor start has also left manager Paul Clement under serious pressure ahead of two away fixtures in a week - Blackburn Rovers this Wednesday (7.45pm) and Aston Villa this Saturday (3pm).

Royals writer, Jim Tatum, takes a peak at what we learned from Saturday's disappointing home reverse.

1. Lack of creativity

Reading have scored just one goal in their first three league games and they continued to struggle against Bolton, with their best chance coming from a John Swift free kick.

Reading press for a goal that never came against Bolton.

After the game, Paul Clement criticised his players’ inability to create chances in particular.

2. Same defensive weaknesses haven’t been resolved

Last season Paul Clement bemoaned his side’s habit of conceding soft goals due to basic errors.

Paul McShane returned to the Reading side in place of Tiago Ilori.

Bolton's goal on Saturday, as well as the last minute goal against Derby, came from individual and collective lapses in concentration and it is a problem Clement hasn’t managed to resolve in his time as manager.

3. Problems up front

Despite addressing the striker position in the summer by bringing in Sam Baldock and Marc McNulty, neither have managed to open their Reading account yet in the opening four games, if you include the Carabao Cup.

Between them, the pair managed fewer than five shots on target against Bolton.

4. Strike partnership needs time to gel

Marc McNulty showed promise with some good movement and touches on Saturday, but also his lack of experience at this level, giving away possession cheaply on several occasions.

Sam Baldock searched for a goal against Bolton.

There were flashes in the first half where McNutly and Sam Baldock looked to link up, but they will need to find a way to get into better shooting positions if they are to forge an effective partnership for the Royals.

5. Change in style

The football played last season under ex-manager Jaap Stam was dire.

When results began to dry, Paul Clement was brought in to steady the ship.

While there were question marks over Clement’s potentially negative style, Royals played some slick and positive football against Bolton in the first half.

Clement is certainly trying to get Reading playing the right way, but the biggest issue remains a lack of quality.

Yakou Meite takes a shot against Bolton.