Academy Manager Keith Brown admitted his side were not at the races as they fell 3-0 to Reading at the Madejski Stadium.

“I’m a bit disappointed.” he said. “Too many players didn’t turn up for us and you’ll never win a football game if you have passengers.

“I always say try and stay in the game – if you come in at 0-0 we can regroup, go back out, refocus and get back into the game.

“The goalkeeper has made an error for us, we switched off and they have got a goal so it was disappointing to concede a goal there.”

The feat accomplished so far this season has by-far passed all expectations and the squad have already stamped their names inside the clubs history books.

And Brown does not take this for granted, acknowledging the accomplishment of reaching the fifth round and the positive impact it has had on their development: ​”We have enjoyed the cup run.

“It has been good to play against some top quality opposition, we have learned a lot from that and that is always good for the development of the players​.

“We have got some good players, we are working hard at this academy to develop and bring through the right kind of players, we are progressing as a club and as an academy.

“If you can get the development and the winning habit and link them together then I think that is the key.”

This is not the end of the road for this group of players, with a large portion of the squad still schoolboys, the future is bright for Stanley