Reading owner Anton Zingarevich vows to invest wisely

New Reading owner Anton Zingarevich has reassured supporters he will not let the club go into financial meltdown and has vowed to invest wisely.

The Russian took over the Royals in June but says he feels a responsibility to ensure their financial stability.

Locally both Portsmouth and Southampton have recently been in administration - something Zingarevich is aware of.

"We want to manage it in a prudent way, hopefully we have shown that already," Zingarevich told BBC South Today.

Football ownership is under huge scrutiny at present with Pompey the latest club close to liquidation, while in the Premier League, the finances of Manchester United are also being watched closely following their recent US stock market floatation.

Leeds United and Saints both suffered recent financial trouble following their relegation from the Premier League, but Zingarevich says he will spend wisely and grow the club sensibly.

"There have been a couple of examples of how things have been mismanaged," Zingarevich told BBC South Today in his first ever British television interview.

"It is really important to manage it in a prudent way.

"I want to build this club and develop it further. The first thing to do is to stay in the Premier League, if we do that then there is an opportunity to do that.

"You know if you do get into financial trouble then it can be harmful to everybody.

"We want to look after this club in a good manner. We see the opportunity and potential but have a responsibility."

Since his arrival, Reading have signed Pavel Pogrebnyak, Garath McCleary, Danny Guthrie, Nicky Shorey, Adrian Mariappa, Pierce Sweeney and Chris Gunter as the club made its return to the Premier League.

Zingarevich says he is excited by the potential growth of the club, and has dismissed suggestions that his father Boris Zingarevich - who is said to be worth £3.4billion - is part-financing the venture.

"It is financed by the company that I own, and that company is financed by me," he said.

"This is a business, you can't look at it any other way. You have the revenue streams that are coming in which make it a business, so of course it is a business that you need to look after.

"But for me it is the creation of something, and to be able to create something bigger makes me enthusiastic and drives me.

"There is opportunity to expand the capacity of the stadium but it has to happen at the right time.

"I think Reading are one of the best investment opportunities in football generally. They were the one club I thought could grow the most. They were a Championship club so weren't paying Premier League wages.

"The stadium is full to capacity each week so we have to increase the stadium. We are best-placed for corporate sponsorship outside of London because of where Berkshire is."