Reading manager Ruben Selles defended a section of the club’s fans for staging a sit-in protest after the 1-0 League One defeat at home to Peterborough.
About 200 supporters protested loudly yet peacefully, calling for the removal of club owner Dai Yongge for 40 minutes after a losing start to life in the third tier.
The Royals, who are under another transfer embargo, were beaten by a 43rd-minute strike from Posh skipper Ephron Mason-Clark.
“The situation at the club is very complex and has been very challenging,” new boss Selles said.
“With relegation last season and the challenge that we had in the summer (with the transfer embargo), I understand that the fans are disappointed.
“The fans have been living with the club in their hearts for their entire life. What we need to do now is do things for them to be proud of us.”
Of the game, Selles said: “We don’t like the defeat, we don’t like that feeling.
“But I think that we showed today that we are a good team. We showed that we can perform.
“We need to use this game as a booster to help us to form an identity that we want to find.
“We knew it was going to be difficult but we had some good moments in the game.
“We knew what to do in the first 30 or 35 minutes, we were very intense and knew what to do in possession and also in transition.
“After conceding the goal, we went into self-protective mode a bit too much. But we erased that in the second half.”
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson saw room for improvement from his side’s performance.
“It’s a pleasing result for us and a clean sheet as well,” he said.
“I was happy with elements of the performance.
“I didn’t think that we started the game well, we were a bit frantic and looked a bit nervous.
“But after the goal, I thought that we got more control and confidence.
“In the end, though, we had to dig out the result as Reading were putting a lot of balls into our box.
“The way the game is now, in terms of all the injury time, it can get the home crowd up.
“But we blocked a lot of things and I think that the players will really come on from that.
“It needs a lot of elements to win a game of football and toughing it out is one of them.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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