Reading FC manager Veljko Paunovic speaks ahead of Derby County game

Paunovic addressed a number of key issues in his first press conference since being appointed into the Reading FC hot seat.

Below is a summary of the key points discussed during the press conference.

The nature of his appointment

"My past success with the Serbian national team raised a lot of interest around me, I had a lot of opportunities back then. 

"[The appointment] happened quickly and suddenly, to be honest. I was aware of the possible situations I had with teams around the world, after I finished the project with Chicago Fire.

"When the opportunity was there, I was very interested. This is a country where everything started, it's a great opportunity for someone like me to have a possibility to work in one of the best countries in the world."

On Reading FC

"For me, everything is new and I'm going through a learning process. Reading is a team that has fantastic facilities, a fantastic club with a huge past. Not many constitutions in the world have the history that this club has. 

"I am here to help. I am here to give my team all my knowledge of football. [The fans] may not be familiar with me, but I have an important past in football. I've come from a football family, everything I have is due to this marvelous sport. 

"I'm here to share that, to ignite the possibilities and the potential this club has. 

"I have a complete conviction that we can be successful. This is a new beginning, we're starting a new project together. I'm going to learn what was done before I came here, I do not think you need to change anything.

"We have a lot of positives that we can build on and we have to bring some new things, fresh energy, clear ideas, good communication."

On being given time

"We have to understand that if we want to do things right, it takes time. but, obviously, we also understand the urgency an that people want to see the team winning games and getting in shape. 

"I have no doubt it'll be a long season, we'll go through different things.

"But, I also know there is a consistency in the approach that we're going to have. I believe I'll have time to do that. From tomorrow, we have to show how we're going to play.

"I'm confident that we'll have the resources and what we need to succeed. We have beautiful facilities, it's a dream for every coach to work in this environment. We have great people here and we'll be looking to add value to that."

Style of play

"Defensively, we have to be organised and in a 'warrior spirit' all the time. Helping each other, win the ball and strike back. When that isn't possible, keep working. 

"On the other side, when we have the ball, we want to have control although we know we will have to adapt to our opponents. It's not always necessarily be that we're going to have the ball all of the time. 

"Some games we will win in possession and in other games that's not the goal, maybe we'll want to be more direct. 

"The style is going to be very demanding in terms of the physicality. 

"It has to be very sharp, and this is something that is still in process. But we want to have the clarity and options to win the games in attack. We have a lot of ideas and we'll implement those depending on who we are playing.

"I always say what I've learnt from the great coaches. I had the opportunity to work in this country with very successful coaches like Ranieri, Unai Emery and Slavisa Jokanovic. 

"It's a league that has a lot of teams, a lot of influences, you have to be adaptable. That doesn't mean you have to switch your formations.

"What I've learned from all these people is what matters is what players you have and how well you can appreciate their qualities and put them together and believe in what they do. If we have that right, we don't have to worry about the formations. 

"I want to be very creative with our team. I don't think there is only one way to succeed."

Transfers

"We're happy with what we have but we want to keep improving. The football world is sometimes unpredictable and we don't know what can happen in the future. We have to be proactive and also remember football is a game of adaptation, good planning and good execution.

"We have a situation with [Rodrigo Riquelme] that he has been around the team. We're looking at him, as a potential reinforcement, but right now at this point we're not ready to give any updates on his situation. He is someone we're looking at."

Young players

"We're never going to look at that label. We will always look at who is ready and who can give the team what we're looking for. 

"In terms of young players, I have huge experience with that and I'm very proud of what I did with the Serbian national team. I know it's a process. We had guys who wanted to retire at the age of 17 that now are playing in the top teams in Europe because we took care of them, we prepared them and when they were ready we gave them the opportunity. 

"We were 100 per cent sure that they can perform. We'll have young players [playing for the first team] as soon as they're ready. Young people's confidence is very subtle and we have to be careful how we build that. 

"You can also see in the game against Colchester, we had a player [Ethan Bristow] who worked with us for a couple of days and we said yes, he can go forward.

"As I said, we're not labeling anyone. We believe in the youth, in the academy."