Click here to listen to Graeme Murty's interview on BBC Radio Berkshire

Those who believe that Premier League footballers train briefly, play a few matches, take home fat wages and do not care one iota about the public perception of them should have tuned in to BBC Radio Berkshire yesterday morning. Graeme Murty, the Reading captain, laid bare his emotions less than 24 hours after his side went down to the Coca-Cola Championship.

It was a rollercoaster of a show, Murty's one-hour weekly slot over-running by 40 minutes as he sought to give the many callers adequate answers. At times, with the memory of relegation still raw, he was almost reduced to tears. With Fulham beating Portsmouth 1-0, Reading's last-day 4-0 win over Derby County had been rendered irrelevant.

Murty, 33, could have ducked out of the inquisition with Andrew Peach, the presenter. Few would have begrudged him that in his moment of despair. So, too, could his wife, Karen, also a regular on the show. Instead, the Murty family turned up mob-handed, with his mother, Liz, and their baby daughter, Freya, also in tow.

“I've been doing it for two years and I've got a good rapport with the Reading fans,” Murty said. “Just because things go against you, doesn't mean that you abdicate your responsibilities. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life because, basically, how do you say sorry, we've not been good enough to people who have shelled out so much money?

“Yes, there was a lot of emotion out there from the fans, myself and Karen. One guy really got to me, saying that I sounded so down and that he wanted me to assure him that I wouldn't be leaving. That put me on my knees and Karen could see what it was doing to me. We had to order extra hankies.

“I had to take a couple of deep breaths and a couple of minutes to get it all back together again. I looked out through the window of the studio and there was my mum giving me a stern look, the thumbs up and sort of telling me to get a grip and to deal with it. That helped a lot.”

Most of the callers had words of encouragement for Murty, Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, and John Madejski, the chairman. Despite the loss of the club's elite status after two years in the top flight, there was a marked absence of the rabid ranting and raving of many radio phone-ins.

Peach asked Murty: “Can you put into words what it feels like waking up as a Championship player this morning?” Murty replied: “Not really. I don't know what you're on about, 'wake up'. I've not been asleep yet.”

Peach asked: “Talk me through yesterday [Sunday].” Murty replied: “Wake up, you're nervous. You don't want to let anyone down. Lo and behold, we put on a really good display, and yet you come off the pitch and get punched in the stomach. Your best efforts over ten months aren't enough.”

Murty forced himself to watch Match of the Day on Sunday night. “I couldn't believe Fulham's goal and Karen and I were still shouting at the TV when Portsmouth had a half-chance,” he said. “I mean, we knew the result. It was surreal.”

Yesterday, after his phone-in ordeal, Murty took Freya swimming and the family out to lunch. And he is already relishing next season, his eleventh at the club. “I want to stay here,” he said. “I want on my CV that I was the captain who took Reading back to the Premier League. I want another go.”