Reading wasted no time in taking to confirm the appointment of new manager in Noel Hunt after Ruben Selles leaves for Hull City.
Both take up the roles on a two-and-a-half-year deal, with Hunt taking charge of his first game at League One leaders Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, while for Hull, caretaker Andy Dawson is to remain in charge for Saturday’s home game against Blackburn Rovers, before Selles takes his first match when they host Watford next Wednesday.
Reading currently sit sixth in the League One table, an impressive tenure from Selles especially with all the troubles going on behind the scenes.
Selles comes in to replace Tim Walter at Hull City, who was sacked the German last week following a run of nine games without a win.
The Tigers sit 22nd in the Championship, with just three wins from 18 league games.
Thank you, Rubén.
We can confirm Rubén Sellés, Toby Loveland, and James Oliver-Pearce have left the club with immediate effect to take on a new challenge at Hull City.
We thank and wish Rubén, Toby, and James all the best for the future.https://t.co/CPtDKwxRXl#ReadingFC pic.twitter.com/r2bE2IUxcd
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) December 6, 2024
“I’d like to say thank you for everything. I’m very proud of the relationship that we built, and I wish you all the best for the future.”
Rubén’s final farewell to everyone connected with Reading Football Club. #ReadingFC pic.twitter.com/KJ2daVCtsa
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) December 6, 2024
READING STATEMENT:
Reading Football Club can confirm that First Team Manager Rubén Sellés has decided to leave the club with immediate effect to take on a new challenge at Hull City.
Earlier this week, the club received an approach from the Tigers to request permission to speak with Rubén and activate the release terms in his contract. After considering the offer and holding discussions, Rubén has made the difficult decision to accept the opportunity.
Alongside Rubén, Toby Loveland and James Oliver-Pearce will also depart to join him.
Since arriving at Reading in July 2023, Rubén’s passion, leadership, and connection with the club and its supporters has been evident. Rubén, Toby, and James, leave with our heartfelt thanks for their dedication and professionalism during their time here. We wish them nothing but success as they embark on this new chapter of their careers.
Thank you Rubén, Toby and James.
Reading Football Club are delighted to announce that Noel Hunt has agreed terms to become the club’s new Men’s First Team Manager.
The Irishman moves from his role as Under 21 Manager to sign a contract until June 2027, and took training on Friday before he leads the senior team in Saturday’s Sky Bet League One fixture at Wycombe Wanderers.
The club has always believed that Noel has all of the credentials to succeed in management, and is widely regarded as one the most exciting young coaches in the country. He has built an unrivalled reputation for developing some of our most exciting young talent, and has the full backing of everybody at the club.
Noel’s association with Reading FC began in 2008 when he signed as a player to link up with Steve Coppell’s team. He would wear the hoops for a total of five seasons and play an integral part in his side’s Championship winning campaign of 2011/12.
His early years as a coach saw him become Assistant Manager at both Swindon Town and Doncaster Rovers, before returning to Reading in 2022 as Under 21 Manager.
Under his stewardship, our young Royals reached the semi-final of the Premier League 2 play-offs in 2023/24, an achievement that also saw them qualify for the Premier League International Cup this term.
Hunt took on the role of Interim First Team Manager in April 2023, taking charge of the Royals’ final five fixtures of the Sky Bet Championship campaign.
Noel’s coaching team will be confirmed in due course.
We are delighted to announce that Noel Hunt has agreed terms to become the club’s new Men’s First Team Manager.
Noel’s tenure will begin this Saturday in our Sky Bet League One fixture at Wycombe Wanderers.https://t.co/76TTRoo69J#ReadingFC pic.twitter.com/aeRm1Xy20e
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) December 6, 2024
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HULL CITY STATEMENT:
Hull City are delighted to announce the appointment of Rubén Sellés as the club’s new head coach, subject to obtaining a visa.
The 41-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the MKM Stadium, with a club option of a further year, after a compensation fee was agreed with Reading.
The widely admired Spaniard impressed despite continued off-field challenges during his 18-month Royals reign, steering a young side to safety and then into the League One play-off places.
James Oliver-Pearce and Tobias Loveland have also made the move from the Select Car Leasing Stadium, joining as assistant head coach and first-team coach respectively.
Andy Dawson will take the side for Saturday’s match against Blackburn Rovers before returning to his role as first-team coach, with Sellés to assume full control on Monday.
Chairman Acun Ilıcalı said: “We are delighted to have secured the services of our number one target.
“Rubén’s ambition aligns with ours. His passion and enthusiasm shone through in our meetings and we share similar ideas of how we want football to be played.
“There was considerable interest in the role, but Rubén stood out for his football philosophy, ability to develop players, attention to detail and extensive coaching experience.
“I would like to thank Reading for their cooperation and professionalism throughout the process.
“I believe we have the right man to lead our talented squad forward and give our passionate supporters a team they will enjoy watching.
“My dream for this club is entertaining football and positive results. We are really excited to have Rubén with us and I know our amazing fans will welcome him into our Hull City family.”
Sellés said: “I am really happy. When the possibility to come here became real, my eyes were on Hull City.
“I know the team, the club, the history and I’m looking forward to starting my journey with the team.
“I saw a lot of similarities with where we are as technical staff and what we want to do for the present and the future, and that’s why I decided to come.
“From now, we go all in, all together, every single time, 100%. There is no tomorrow; every day is important, every action is important. We’re going to fight for every inch together.”
Tuesday’s convincing 3-0 victory over Cambridge United in Sellés’ final game was Reading’s ninth league win this season and 11th in 12 home matches in all competitions, leaving the Royals in sixth.
The Berkshire club are unbeaten in six and have the fourth-most potent attack in League One, with Sellés winning 34 of his 78 matches following his arrival in June 2023.
Performing admirably in adversity, his first season saw Reading overturn a 10-point deficit to comfortably avoid relegation by nine points in 17th position despite a six-point deduction.
Under Sellés’ stewardship, the Royals romped to a sensational 9-0 EFL Trophy victory at Exeter City and ended the 2023/24 campaign with the division’s seventh best home record and goals for tally.
His first experience in English football came with Southampton, joining as assistant to Ralph Hasenhüttl in the summer of 2022 before taking the reins in February until the end of the season.
Sellés was unable to save Saints from relegation from the Premier League, having inherited a team ensconced in the bottom three, but oversaw several standout results while gaining valuable top-flight experience.
Stunning Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, Southampton recorded high-scoring draws against Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as a goalless draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Born in Valencia, Sellés achieved his UEFA Pro Licence aged 25 and held numerous coaching roles over a 15-year period in Greece, Spain, Russia, Azerbaijan, Norway and Denmark before moving to England.
Notable accomplishments include back-to-back Azerbaijan league titles with Qarabağ, European qualification with Aarhus and winning the Superliga with fellow Danish side Copenhagen.
Rubén is proudly sponsored by Evans & Co Chartered Certified Accountants for the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
Here’s how fans reacted as Reading confirm appointment of new manager Noel Hunt after Ruben Selles leaves for Hull City…
@DazWareham: 💪🏻 what a guy. Let’s get behind him tomorrow and take his first 3 points from adams park! Up the ding!
@James89349764: Let all get behind @Noelhunt20 alot of the first team have been brought through by Noel and he deserves our backing.
@RFCmartire: Makes real sense to me. I just hope he secured commitments from the club to not sell key players in January. Best of luck Noel well deserved promotion 👏👏👏 COURsss!
@SamanthaSmit29: Noel, Noel,Noel, Noeeeel. Born is the king of the S, C, L. The first Noel, McDermott did buy, his brother was Stevey made Petr Cech cry….. credit to my brother for this 👏 #readingfc #sellbeforewedai #utfd
@SamanthaSmit29: Thank goodness for you @Noelhunt20 thank you for your loyalty – we are behind you every step of the way 👏👏 #readingfc #utfd #sellbeforewedai
@Tatum1871: The good thing about this is he’ll have coached a large portion of this squad already and will be familiar with them. Hunt is a true Royal time to back him
@CazParker1871: Good luck Ruben. Shame you had to work under such car crash ownership with zero regard for your or your staff and squad. Please don’t nick our players in Jan though. You know we need them.
@mdcornes: Not his fault at all… like all men, father’s, husbands, he has to think about the future…but the focus on these interviews is always the fans…RFC can the hierarchy please acknowledge the support of the fans by laying out a clear plan for the future?
@crochet_claire: Gutted, but not surprised. He stayed longer than I thought he would. Thank you Ruben, you have done so much for this club and I will always remember this past year fondly, despite all the heartache surrounding the club 💙 #readingfc
@hlane0117: Hope I speak for all Shrimpers when I say best of luck Noel! Top man
@MattAllSportAck: The level of contempt I feel towards the owners and higher levels of management is off the scale. Ruben has done an incredible job in incredulous circumstances. Guaranteed fire sale in Jan!! 🤡🤬🤬
@RFCLatest: Don’t hate it at all. All behind you Hunty! 🇮🇪
@Nozzzaaaa: Super sad times but as always we fight on – we”ve got this & you know what – Noel has been a constant at this club and I truly believe loves this club as much as us. Don’t stand for any 💩 Noel – give em hell to sort this sizzle out … and fast 💪🏼 P.S. I’m drunk in Poland 🤣
@FTM1042: A man of huge integrity and loyalty. A massive miss for reading football club. Feel extremely sorry for the supporters as it has being an extremely heartbreaking and disappointing period for the club over past few years but one man who remained loyal was Ruben.
@andy_cov93: I feel very sorry for the fans here – finally had something good and let it go for pennies in the grand scheme – we’ve had owners do the same and sell our prized assets cheap – even in Marc McNulty, to yourselves – you’ll bounce back from this. Good luck Royals
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