Reading manager Steve Coppell admits departures at the club are "inevitable" following their relegation to the Championship.The Royals' two-year stay in the Premier League ended in agonising circumstances on Sunday when they were edged out on goal difference by Fulham.

Even a 4-0 victory at Pride Park could not prevent them joining Derby and Birmingham in the Championship next season following the Cottagers' 1-0 win at FA Cup finalists Portsmouth.

Speculation had already surrounded the futures of the likes of Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt and Nicky Shorey even before the club's fate was sealed.

And the hefty cost of relegation to the second tier is now likely to increase the prospect of players heading for the exit door.

Coppell, whose own future at the Madejski Stadium remains shrouded in doubt, said: "I think inevitably now there will be a reassessment and a rejig, it always happens.

"I think there were always going to be some changes anyway. I suppose it's now a time of reflection, making conclusions and going from there."

As for the Royals' relegation, Coppell conceded his side had paid the price for failing to take points off the sides around them.

"We have had our opportunities this year," he added.

"We are talking about margins and they turned out to be significant at the end of the day.

"We had our opportunities, Bolton took six points off us, Fulham took six points as well.

"The golden rule at the bottom is you have to beat the sides around you and we never did that."

However, he insisted this year's fixture list had done them no favours whatsoever.

"In a way I think playing Derby in the last game of the season was a little bit of a disadvantage.

"Also, harping back to six international breaks this year we have had long journeys on five of those.

"I think that was a disadvantage as well. No other team had so many away games after the international breaks."

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