Royals boss Veljko Paunovic was beaming with pride at his sides showing in the 4-2 win away at Blackburn Rovers.

The Serbian manager has now steered Reading to seven wins from the opening eight league games of the campaign, with his side now boasting an incredible seven point advantage at the summit of the Championship table.

Paunovic said: "I feel very proud of the guys. This stadium has been known to me since I was a young kid, dreaming about playing one day here and now as a coach coming here for the first time and win with a fantastic team and spirit in our group.

"It is unique. And that uniqueness is something that we want to keep fostering and cultivating because it's very important that our players continue with this commitment.

"I'm full of gratitude to this group and also to all our Reading family."

Reading opened the scoring within a matter of seconds, with Yakou Meite reacting quickest to a brilliant back-heel from Lucas Joao to give Reading an early lead.

Paunovic said that they were aiming to start the game well tonight, after comparatively slower starts against Wycombe Wanderers and Rotherham United last week.

"We always create positive expectations and this action [the early goal] was created from our stuff. It's great that it worked, because it continues to grow the trust and belief between all of the team.

"Starting on the front foot was important for us after a couple of games where we didn't have good starts. Today, we put emphasis on that and again we are so appreciative to our team for everything we propose - there's always an acceptance and an embracing of the ideas. Hard work puts everything to work. 

"We expect to continue to improve. All we ask is achievable and that's the one hundred per cent commitment."

The Reading manager confirmed he would not be resting on his laurels and expects his side to continue improving.

"It's good that we have a team that is still growing, getting good results. The confidence is there but it's a hard streak we have now, we have to provide our players the best possible recovery. 

"The win helps with that, it helps the mind, triggers the body, and that's what we focus on now because in a couple of days we have another game where we want to be at our best.

"When you look individually, everyone had a fantastic game. I would give today the best note to the whole team, individually and as a team.

"The adjustments in the second half were important and the guys who came in - you don’t feel anything changes and they worked. It’s the most complete performance so far.

"I’m still not looking at the standings. I’m disciplined in that, I just want to know who we’re playing next, how did they do and get to know as much as I can about them."

The Royals boss confirmed that Yakou Meite 'should be' fit for the next game after going down with an injury in the second half. Ovie Ejaria didn't feature in the match-day squad after feeling muscle fatigue, with Paunovic confirming that he would err on the side of caution on Friday night - should he not feel Ejaria is fully fit.