Stuart Pearce praised Nottingham Forest’s new signings for making an immediate impact after three of them scored in this impressive win over Reading.

Michail Antonio struck twice and set up another for Matty Fryatt, while the £5m striker Britt Assombalonga also scored as Forest romped to an emphatic victory. Another two new signings, Chris Burke and Jack Hunt, also played their part in the goals as the Championship leaders provided another demonstration of their promotion credentials.

“The most important thing for me is not the result, it is how quickly the new faces have settled into the team,” Pearce said. “I have to give credit to all the players who were already here, for making them feel welcome. But the new lads have settled in really, really well.

“That is the most pleasing thing for me about the start. You expect it to take time for a new player to fit into the squad. But the new signings have really hit the ground running.”

Pearce delivered a half-time rollicking in the dressing room, even though Forest were leading 1-0 thanks to Antonio’s first strike. “I was very frustrated with the first half, I thought the players undersold themselves. I think when we play at home, we have to take the game by the scruff of the neck,” he said.

“They didn’t do that, we let Reading get a foothold in the game. I told them at half time, when you are on the pitch, never undersell yourself and we did that for 45 minutes. The one really pleasing thing is that, when you ask them to do something or you tell them something, they listen and they do it on the pitch.

Adam Federici had been forced into a smart double save to deny Forest, from Andy Reid and then Burke, before Forest took the lead with their next meaningful attack. It came from a familiar combination, as Burke delivered a fine cross from the right flank, picking out Antonio, who powered in a header off the underside of the bar.

Jordan Obita had denied Forest a second goal when he headed clear off his own line, after Danny Fox had powered a header into the danger zone, with Fryatt then prodding the loose ball wide of the post.

Forest did survive two scares, with Aaron Kuhl poking wide from a good position 10 yards out – and the former Forest man Simon Cox failing to make the most of a better chance, sending a bobbling shot the wrong side of the far post.

The home side all but secured three points within eight minutes of the restart, with two goals in quick succession. The first came in the 47th minute when Jack Hunt advanced down the right to deliver a looping ball to the far post, where Antonio was arriving again, this time to squeeze home a prodded shot, from close range.

Six minutes later Antonio turned provider, cutting inside on to his right foot to lift a cross enticingly into the path of Fryatt, who lapped up the opportunity, powering home a header beyond the helpless Federici.

Reading were shell-shocked – and Forest were rampant, with a fourth goal coming in the 64th minute, following a melee in the goalmouth. The Royals struggled to clear following a shot from Antonio, with Assombalonga eventually pouncing to drive into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the campaign.

It might have been 5-0 when the substitute Jamie Paterson drove in a shot from 12 yards after Reading again failed to clear, if not for a fine reaction stop from Federici.

The Reading manager, Nigel Adkins, was disappointed with his senior players, who he felt were culpable for the Forest goals. The Royals, who were missing 10 players through injury, named seven products of their academy in their starting XI.

Adkins said: “We had opportunities to score in the first half, which was pleasing, when you consider the young side we have got. But the big killer for us was the second goal, which was a shocking one, where we failed to defend the far post. That is down to senior players in the team not doing their jobs.

“Our young players did really well, which was pleasing. I have to give them credit for that. We had a lot of young players in that team. But that is not an excuse, because they were poor goals we conceded.”