With Harry Johnston in charge at Reading during the 1960-1961 season, everything went wrong for the club in the third division, the Royals stumbled in the league finishing off in a poor 18th position, they did however reach the third round of the FA Cup. The following season saw a huge improvement in Reading league form and they finished the season off strongly in 7th position, a big improvement in comparison to the previous seasons, their star player, Maurice Evans, was inspirational for the Royals through out, they did however suffer the humiliation of being knocked out of the first round of the FA Cup.
The 1962-63 witnessed a huge downturn in Readings league fortunes, they were poor through out the campaign and were lucky to avoid relegation, finishing the season off in 20th position, they also were poor in the FA Cup, once again crashing out in the first round. Harry Johnston left the managerial post at the end of the campaign, being replaced by Roy Bentley in the summer of 1963, the appointment proved to be a successful one as the response was immediate, the Royals embarked on a fine league campaign, finishing the season off strongly in sixth position, they also managed to surpass the first round of the FA cup, finishing off in the second round.
The 1964-65 season was by no means a disaster, good performances did not reflect the clubs 13th league position finish at the end of the season, the club did however embark on their finest FA Cup run in a staggering 30 years, they finished the competition in the forth round, a sound achievement.