Guthrie did not make the trip to the Stadium of Light and his team-mates suffered a 3-0 defeat to Martin O'Neill's side which kept them in the relegation zone.

But, after the former Liverpool prospect showed contrition in training on Thursday, McDermott has expressed eagerness to move on.

"He asked me if he could speak to the entire group before training. It took a lot of courage for him to do that and he deserves respect for his reaction," McDermott told the club's official website.

"We can all put this to bed now. Every person in life makes mistakes and Danny apologised to all of his team-mates and the staff in a group meeting.

"Now, myself, the players and staff will all move on. We have 22 games ahead of us and together as one unit we can achieve our goals for Reading Football Club and for the supporters."