Reading FC striker Lucas Joao has expressed his shock at the sudden news of manager Veljko Paunovic's departure from the club.

Pressure had been growing on Paunovic for weeks but it was still a major surprise to most around the Royals community when his exit was announced just minutes after the full-time whistle went to mark Reading’s first win in 84 days.

Joao, who scored twice in Saturday’s 3-2 victory at Preston, explained after the match that he and the squad didn’t know about the news before Paunovic announced it to them in the dressing room.

“We were all happy because we won finally and then sad when the manager told us this news," Joao said. "Nobody was expecting it, it wasn’t the news we wanted at the end of the game. But it’s football, it’s part of football and now we need to take the news and carry on winning - that’s most important for the club.

“All of us wish him the very best.”

When asked about the seemingly strange timing of the news - before the players had even left the ground and were in mid-celebration - Joao conveyed his surprise.

“It’s hard. We just came for a win, we’ve been working a lot for that. We expected it (the win) to come soon and finally, it has come…and then we have this bad news. For us, it was a shock but we are football players, we need to deal with it and think only about the next game because it’s the most important for the club.

“It wasn’t the atmosphere we wanted or the atmosphere we expected (in the dressing room) but I don’t know what to say because I’ve never dealt with something like this. But as I said, we are mature enough, this is football, we need to deal with it and think about the next game.”

Joao’s first-half brace at Deepdale doubled his goals tally in an injury-hit season and the forward says he is finally starting to feel like his old self, just in time for the crucial relegation battle run-in.

“Finally, we have this winning feeling. Of course, we’ve been looking for it for such a long time and finally, it arrives. I’m happy as well to score two goals and help the team.

“Now I’m getting my fitness back, I can help the team achieve the points and wins and hopefully I can get away from the injuries and help the team with my qualities.

“It was hard (being out injured), I had there were difficult periods. But now I’m through the difficult periods and helping the team by doing what I do best.”