Tabb accepts bench role

Reading midfielder Jay Tabb has said he accepts his place on the Royals bench, praising the current midfield for their performances.

The versatile midfielder has been denied a place in the team following the fine performances of current midfield duo Mikele Leigertwood and Jem Karacan. Tabb formed a decent partnership last month will Karacan when Leigertwood had a thigh problem, but the 27-year old has admitted he is content to wait for his next opportunity in the starting XI.

He told the official RFC site yesterday: 'The team's been playing really well, five wins on the bounce and five clean sheets so there's no frustration for me. The gaffer knows I'm fit and ready if he needs me, but hopefully Jem and Ledge keep doing well and if they do then I'll be sitting on the bench!'

'It's an old cliché in football but we've got to take each game as it comes, because as soon as you try looking too far ahead you come unstuck. At the moment whatever we're doing is right so we have to keep that going. It's different if you're in mid-table or down the bottom, you're kind of hoping that something will get you into the team but at the moment, in an ideal world, I probably won't get a game between now and the end of the season because we're winning every week.'

The former Coventry player of the year has been linked with a move away from the Madejski Stadium but his versatility around the pitch will be a crucial asset in the final third of the season. Tabb is set to be on the bench at this Saturday's game at Millwall alongside Simon Church, who has fully recovered from an ankle problem.

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