The 2013-14 campaign was a season of agonizing near-miss for Reading as The Royals surged to a competitive 7th-place finish in the Championship, falling agonizingly short of the promotion play-offs on the dramatic final day. Leading the charge was the clinical Adam Le Fondre, whose 15 league goals proved decisive, a tally boosted by a sensational run of back-to-back home hat-tricks in January. The season, which marked their first back in the second tier after relegation, was built on moments of attacking brilliance under manager Nigel Adkins, but a final-day draw combined with a rival's late winner elsewhere sadly consigned The Royals to the Championship for another year.