Coppell to bow out after cruellest cut

STEVE COPPELL confirmed he is considering his future after Reading’s relegation to the Championship was confirmed last night, with the manager’s resignation expected to be confirmed early this week.

Coppell’s misfiring side rediscovered their goal touch to end a run of over nine hours of drought at Pride Park, but it all proved irrelevant in the final reckoning as Fulham’s defeat of FA Cup finalists Portsmouth deprived Reading a third season in the top flight.

The insurance of playing the worst team the Premier League has ever seen was not enough to prevent tears of sadness within the Reading dressing room and among the 3,000 travelling fans. Instead, they shared in Derby’s relegation misery and in the cruellest of circumstances. Reading came within 14 minutes of a reprieve but Danny Murphy’s winner on the south coast proved fatal.