The right Royal row over Alan Pardew rumbles on. But with Christian Dailly's winner now extending reluctant Trevor Brooking's unbeaten run to six matches few East Enders will complain if the tug of war between these clubs carries on for a while longer.
"I just hope I am not sitting here next April," laughed Brooking. "I hope we can resolve matters but the public debate hasn't helped things.
"I don't know how the situation is going to move on from here but it's a sensitive situation and we're not going to push the panic button."
It was the Hammers who enjoyed the more comfortable start as Neil Mellor raced onto a reckless Reading back pass only to drill his shot against the exposed Marcus Hahnemann.
And as Reading Kevin Dillon shuffled uneasily in his managerial temporary hot seat the fleet-footed Jermain Defoe danced into the box and sent a low angled 12-yard effort crashing off the base of the keeper's left-hand post.
Only five minutes had elapsed but the writing was already on the wall. True enough on the quarter-hour mark skipper Dailly rose at the far post to meet Defoe's deep corner with a thumping header to put the Hammers ahead with his first goal in 93 outings.
Apart from Andy Hughes' testing 25-yard effort that forced David James into a full- length stop, the Hammers' first-half lead was never threatened as the East Enders taunted their counterparts with chants of: "We've got your manager!" Reading fans responded with chants of: "Trevor Brooking is a w***er".
Ten minutes after the restart on-loan substitute Niclas Alexandersson almost marked his arrival with an instant goal but Hahnemann acrobatically clawed away the Swede's far post header.
After Scott Murray came within a whisker of stabbing the visitors level the towering American produced another flying save to deny David Connolly.
Again Steve Sidwell might have saved Reading's unbeaten record with an awkward 25-yard shot in a late flurry.
While Pardew's fate may hang in the balance one thing was for sure - West Ham certainly deserved this victory that lifts them into third place.
"We had a lot on our minds today," conceded Dillon. "We nearly got a point, but in truth we just didn't test David James enough."