Reading FC: Royals boss Paul Clement says his players went into 'panic mode' after falling behind against the Owls

Royals were beaten 2-1 at the Madejski Stadium by Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, a result which leaves them bottom of the table going into the international break after Ipswich Town picked up a point against Norwich City on Sunday.

The Owls proved to be too much for Clement's side, who went behind in the 12th minute when Adam Reach capitalised on some poor defending by sweeping the ball past Vito Mannone from the edge of the area.

The visitors doubled their advantage just 14 seconds after the break as Lucas Joao grabbed his third goal in two league game with a superb finish.

Stand-in skipper Liam Moore reduced the deficit midway through the second half with a stunning header from Leandro Bacuna's corner to make it 2-1.

But Royals failed to find an equaliser as the Owls held on for their first away win in the league.

And Clement believes his players went into 'panic mode' in the second-half, playing too many long balls that did not suit the players on the pitch, having sent on Josh Sims, Marc McNulty and Liam Moore on the hour mark with his side trailing 2-0.

He said: "I felt after that goal what started to happen was you start doing things that are just not right.

"It was like panic mode. With the changes that I made, the ones that came on weren’t giants.

"I thought we ended up being a bit reckless and not playing to the strengths of the individuals that were on the pitch at the time.

"I think at times we are our own worst enemy. The first goal is not a good situation.

"We could have dealt with that situation easily and the second goal is even worse, particularly coming off the back of a 15-minute break where players get a chance for some rest and recovery and listen to some points we need to be better at.

"It was a long ball, a knock down and a finish and then you’ve got a mountain to climb against a team that haven’t had a great away record. Now they can smell it and they were fighting for it. They got their goals and dug in and defended.

"We spoke a lot in the prep about the long balls. You have got to be there for the second ball and we weren’t.

"It is a detail and this is what we are talking about. If you are losing games by fine margins, you are dealing in details that are not getting carried out correctly.

"There is not one big thing. The physical output of the team is up and in many cases is better than the opposition.

Paul Clement looks on from the touchline.

"While Wednesday picked up their first away win of the season, Reading remain without a victory in the 2018/19 Championship.

Chris Gunter returned at right-back, while Icelandic striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was out with a stomach illness.

Clement has asked the players to make an honest assessment of their performance and still believes he has a squad capable of picking up better results.

He added: "[It was a] very frustrating game and very frustrating start to the season. Another narrow margin of defeat.

"Over the six league games we are where we are because we haven’t been good enough. It’s as simple as that. We have got to find a way to stop this.

"I take responsibility. It is normal that the manager does that.

"I have a lot of control over a lot of situations, the way we train, the way we prepare, the tactics, the team. I have to take a lot of responsibility.

"I have asked the players to do the same and to be very honest in the reflection of themselves. Whether they are doing as well as they can.

"I always reflect very honestly after games the way the team has done and I feed back to them in that way and that process will continue."

Reading's next fixture is away at Preston on Saturday, September 15.