Preston North End's next opponents Reading sack manager José Gomes

Gomes had only been in charge of the Royals for 10 months but he was relieved of his duties after two wins in 11 games left them in the Championship's bottom three.

North End are Reading's next opponents after the international break on Saturday, October 19.

A statement on the Berkshire club's website said: "Reading Football Club can announce that José Gomes has left his position as first team manager.

"Gomes joined the club at the end of December 2018 and successfully steered the club away from the threat of relegation.

"However, following just two wins in the first 11 league games in 2019-20, owner Mr Yongge Dai has made the difficult decision to part company with Gomes and make a change at first team level.

"We would like to sincerely thank José for his hard work during his tenure as manager at Reading Football Club and we wish him the very best of luck in his future career."

Gomes' dismissal bucks the trend of managers being sacked after playing North End - eight have left their post within a few days of facing PNE over the last four years.

Portuguese coach Gomes, 49, is the fourth manager to leave a Championship club this season.

Huddersfield sacked Jan Siewart in August, while Neil Harris stepped-down as Millwall boss last Thursday.

On Tuesday, Daniel Stendel left Barnsley, that happening in the wake of the Tykes' 5-1 defeat at Preston.