Reading staff have been alerted of upcoming redundancies just days before Christmas as the off-field issues at the club continue to rear their ugly head.

The Royals, second bottom in League One, have been marred with poor ownership for 18 months, with multiple transfer embargoes and points deductions dragging the club into the depths of the Football League.

Owner Dai Yongge was hit with a £20,000 fine this week for failing to deposit 125 per cent of the wage bill into an allotted account after three late payment of wages this year, however the EFL were left disappointed after they had pushed for the Chinese businessman to be banned from football.

Just a month on from receiving their wages late, the hard-working staff have been hit with yet another sucker punch in the lead-up to Christmas as redundancies have been announced.

According to the Training Ground Guru, up to 20 staff have been sent letters and seven of these roles are in the Category One Academy set-up.

The Reading Chronicle is told that this is not the first set of recent redundancies, with some office staff and general backroom staff already departing in recent weeks.

A charge for paying HMRC late is still hanging over the club, with fears over the punishment as the Royals are the first club charged for the offence.

On the field, Ruben Selles' side have lost just one in five and are now only four points adrift of safety.