Former Reading midfielder Dave Edwards labelled his exit as the 'most horrible' experienced in his career.

The former Wales international arrived on a free transfer in 2017 after almost a decade with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Scoring three goals in 35 appearances during the 2017/18 campaign, Edwards faced a summer of discontent as he was forced to train with the Under-23s in an attempt to force him out of the door.

He returned to boyhood club Shrewsbury Town in January 2019, but his Reading exit is still an experience that sticks in his mind- almost five years on.

"The only one real rejection I had for not being good enough, or perceived to be good enough, was when I left Reading," he told the In the Stiffs podcast.

"I was training with the Under-23’s there. A lot of it was financial, they were trying to get everyone out of the door, but still that was ‘you need to go and change on your own with five or six other lads’ they were trying to get rid of as well. Turning up to train and not being part of the group, not being involved in matchday squads, that was the most horrible one I had. You start questioning your own ability, I was starting to get older, so I was thinking ‘Was my legs gone?’

"Jaap Stam had gone, Paul Clement had come and gone. You look at the mess Reading are in at the moment; they were going through managers and the finances were terrible.

"It was a guy called [Jose] Gomes. He was only there for three or four weeks before I left and he came and said ‘Sorry, you’re going to be with the Under-23s.’ In his first session, there were 25 of us doing 11v11 and I was stood on the side. There was me and two other lads, there were three of us, and they said put a bib on and we’ll get you on in a minute."

Spending two years with the Shrews, he retired with Welsh Premier side Bala Town.