Quinn was appointed joint player-manager of Reading with Mick Gooding in December 1994 on the departure of Mark McGhee to Leicester City. Under their guidance, Reading finished second in Division One, but were denied automatic promotion to the Premier League as it was being reduced from 22 teams to 20 that season. Instead Reading were left to battle for Premier League football via the play-offs. Quinn scored the final goal in a 4–3 defeat to Bolton Wanderers, making Reading the only team to finish second in English football's second tier and not get promoted.