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Paul Clement won seven of his 30 games in charge of Reading in all competitions

Championship strugglers Reading have sacked manager Paul Clement after less than nine months in charge.

The 46-year-old former Swansea and Derby boss leaves with the Royals 21st in the table, only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.

Clement joined Reading in March after Jaap Stam departed and helped them avoid dropping into League One on the final day of the 2017-18 campaign.

But the Berkshire club have only won four of their 20 matches this season.

"Owners Mr Yongge Dai and Ms Xiu Li Dai have made the difficult decision that the time is now right to make a change," a club statement said. external-link

His sacking comes less than 24 hours after the club reappointed Nigel Howe as their chief executive.

"Nigel Howe will now seek to swiftly identify and appoint a new manager who will fit the Reading mould, build a team which can deliver performances and results that will help us climb the Championship table and lead the club towards promotion in the future," the statement added.

Clement had a decorated career as an assistant boss at teams including Chelsea, Paris St-Germain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, but has now spent less than a year in each of his three managerial roles.

He was sacked by Derby in February 2016 after 33 fixtures, managed Swansea for 41 games before leaving in December 2017, and was at Reading for 30 matches.

Reading Under-23s manager Scott Marshall is expected to take charge of the team for their home Championship meeting with Sheffield United on Saturday.