Ruben Selles: Hull City appoint Reading boss as new head coach
Tim Deller, commentator, BBC Radio Berkshire, Reading
Ruben Selles is likeable, calm and methodical, and his character is put to the test in Reading.
If it were the little guy in charge of the Royals for the past 18 months, he would have thrown the toys out of the stroller and cursed at least once, but Sellers takes all the bullshit his owners and CEOs throw at him in stride .
He also patiently and politely answered media questions week after week about this confusing situation, when in fact others should have come forward. He is qualified to be in the Westminster cabinet and to be a Championship football coach.
In his first few months in charge, his tactics were all wrong, playing a terrible 4-2-2-2 formation that was completely ineffective and, in another instance, going nine games without a win and finishing 10 points behind in the league. After finishing bottom of the table, his side’s spell at Reading will end in three months.
However, changes in tactics and selection, as well as a significant turnaround in results, with young players coming to the fore, helped Seles become one of Reading’s most popular managers ever.
Still, the basic human qualities of being a truly likeable human being are by far the most important and why he was so effective during his 18 months at Reading.
