Struggling Reading FC man should benefit from ex-Southampton striker arriving with Leam Richardson | OneFootball

Mark O'Mahony has struggled for form since joining the Royals

Reading have made an extremely underwhelming start to the League One campaign, but are hoping for a new lease of life following the confirmation of Leam Richardson's appointment at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The current campaign was one which many believed would mark the start of a positive era in Berkshire following well-documented off-pitch activity, with Rob Couhig acquiring control of the club, subsequently bringing Dai Yongge's extremely tumultuous tenure inside the boardroom to a much-needed close.

As a result of his impressive body of work in a short period of time, it was also unsurprising that the club's new owner decided to keep faith in Noel Hunt, who oversaw an extremely impressive 2024/25 campaign, all things considered, which included a continuation of the aforementioned off-pitch uncertainties on top of Ruben Selles' departure from the club to join Hull City in December 2024.

Despite the fact Reading haven't exactly splashed the cash since being taken over by the American, the club's current position of 19th, having taken just 15 points from the opening 14 games of the league season has certainly gone against what many predicted before a ball was kicked, with many anticipating yet another run towards the top six.

There is now hope that their fortunes can be addressed in the long run, with Richardson able to call upon previous success at this level, having won the League One title with Wigan Athletic in the 2021/22 season.

However, it's fair to say that, from an individual standpoint, some amongst the ranks at the SCL will also be excited when looking at the 45-year-old's backroom staff, particularly in attacking areas of the pitch following confirmation that ex-Premier League forward, James Beattie has been named as a first-team coach.

During Hunt's second and final transfer window, a raft of new players were acquired in order to help bulk out what had previously been a threadbare Royals squad.

After scoring 68 times last season, there was hope that another respectable goal tally could be racked up when the likes of Jack Marriott, Paddy Lane, Matt Ritchie and Mark O'Mahony joined Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan to bolster Reading's creative and centre-forward ranks.

After scoring six times in just 26 appearances in League One for promotion-winning Wrexham last term, Marriott is already just one goal away from equalling said tally, whilst goals from his fellow forwards and other areas of the pitch have been extremely hard to come by.

Last season, O'Mahony's campaign was blighted by injury, albeit a return of three goals in 13 Championship appearances for Portsmouth on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion was still a modest achievement.

As such, there was plenty of excitement when the Ireland youth international joined Reading on loan from the AMEX Stadium for the season.

Nearly three months later, though, the 20-year-old's solitary strike for the club came in a 3-1 success against West Ham's Under-21s in late September.

However, it cannot be underestimated how much the appointment of Beattie could impact the prospect's development, having seen it all as a player and with previous managerial experience to back it up.

The 47-year-old scored 90 times in 329 Premier League appearances, as well as providing 21 assists, meaning O'Mahony will certainly be looking to grasp the opportunity of improving his all-round game with both hands after creating just eight opportunities for himself thus far.

Although there are several areas in which Reading must show immediate improvement, it is glaringly obvious that an upturn in goalscoring form from attackers besides Marriott will go a long way towards seeing the club climb up the table.

In fairness, the vast majority of players amongst the Royals ranks are still relatively young, so the occasional lapse in form can be somewhat understandable.

However, that isn't likely to be accepted by supporters for a lengthy period of time, and they will hope to see a marked improvement from the likes of O'Mahony in the coming weeks and months, with there still plenty of time for the Berkshire side to climb what remains a congested table at present.