Reading’s hopes of promotion were hampered on Saturday after their 3-2 defeat on Saturday courtesy of fellow play-off hopefuls Derby County.

The Royals took the lead thanks to John Swift; however Darren Bent cancelled out the early goal before half-time.

Derby then took a two-goal lead in the second-half with goals coming from Tom Ince and Will Hughes.

Yakou Meite got his first goal for the club late in the game, but his header was not enough to get his side anything from the game.

The defeat for Reading moves them down to fifth in the Championship table three points clear of The Rams in seventh place.

Since Jaap Stam took charge of the Berkshire side in the summer, Reading have been in flying form.

The ex-Manchester United defender’s side have played passing and exciting football in this campaign and his ‘total football’ approach has guided them to a very successful first-half of their Championship campaign.

Shoot! looks at three reasons why Reading will get promoted this season…

Stam impact

The 44-year-old former Dutch international has been a superb appointment for the Royals this season.

His new side have been in the play-off fight for the duration of this season and they have only lost eight of their 26 Championship games so far this season.

Stam had a very illustrious playing career and he has the experience required to take Reading back to the Premier League.

The defender won a catalogue of honours as a player and he has also won trophies during his spell as Ajax’s assistant manager.

He is loved by the fans and he knows the standard required to reach the top-flight of English football.

In order for any side to make it into the Premier League, it is vital that you need a manager who is capable of making it to the top and The Royals have this in the form of Stam.

Playing style

The Dutchman has got his side playing passing game, and it is certainly doing them a lot of favours.

The Royals have averaged over 58 per cent of possession in their 26 league games this season, with a passing accuracy of 82 per cent.

They base their style on a very Dutch way of playing; out from the back and along the floor. It has proven to be successful so far and it is one of the main reasons why they are fifth.

If they can continue to play their football in the way that they want too, they have a great chance of being back in the Premier League next term.

Young squad

The R’s have a large squad which has a great blend of experience and hot prospects.

They have experience in the forms of goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, centre-back Paul McShane and striker Yann Kermorgant.

However, they have young players including the likes of George Evans, John Swift and Liam Kelly who are first-team regulars at the Madejski Stadium

The squads average age is 25.1-years-old – the fourth youngest in the Championship.

They have the youngest squad of any side in the top seven teams in the league and their energy may prove to be vital when the fixtures start to pile up at the end of the season.

Their squad is younger than every Premier League side, apart from Tottenham’s, so they would be bringing a sense of energy to the top-flight and they are very capable of doing so next season.