Reading FC boss Veljko Paunovic was bemoaning his teams second half showing following the 4-2 defeat to AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

First half goals from Lucas Joao and Sone Aluko gave Reading a two goal advantage at half time, but a second half capitulation saw the hosts leapfrog Reading at the top of the Championship table.

Following the fourth consecutive defeat, the Royals boss said: "It was two different halves. The first half was a fantastic performance with fantastic mentality. 

"We could've scored even more if we were a little bit more precise in the final third. The first half, the plan worked perfectly.

"In the second half to be honest, it is unacceptable. We weren't the team we were [in the first half] before. We have to see what the reason for that is, we have the sense that we didn't have the focus.

"We are all here to give our best in any given moment. There's no time in place for immaturities, we will work from today and we believe we can fix it.

"We have to be consistent moving forward.

"It's a mix of feelings. Most importantly, I use these moments to reflect and channel these feelings towards something positive and flip it as soon as possible towards improvement and positivity towards the next game."

After being brilliantly defensively at the start of the campaign, Reading have now conceded a worrying 15 goals in their last five league games. 

Speaking on the defensive woes, the Serbian manager said: "I think that we have issues in our defensive performances, but we all attack and we all defend. We have to see where the leaks are coming from, the fractions in defence, and we have to fix it.

"We all know this is a game of 90 minutes. At half time, you cannot think you have won. These kind of results against teams like Bournemouth are tricky - you can never drop your shield.

"At 2-2 we reacted well, adjustments from the bench helped, we stopped the play on the right side - both goals came from there.

"We had a couple of opportunites to score the third goal. The third goal [Lewis Cook's strike] is a fantastic goal. We didn't step up and block the shot, but these kind of goals you concede maybe one in one hundred - so credit to them for that. 

"At 3-2 down we were still pushing forward. If we scored the third goal, it would've been a different game.

Looking ahead to the Millwall game in midweek, Paunovic said: "Three points is the key. Three points will cure our current mental state.

"The team is working hard and the team needs to get a reward, but nobody will give it to us. We have to go and get it ourselves.

"We need to be consitent, patient and play our game for 90 minutes. Ultimately, if we have to make changes because of the urgency we have and the lack of performances in some cases. 

"It's about having urgency, who is ready for the next game, who is ready to leave this behind and nourish the deisre. 

"We don't need negativities, we don't need anyone who is going to put at somebody. If you want to look at yourselves and you want to get better, that is what we need. We need that now."