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.”
