Published: Thursday, 21st January, 2010 5:00pm

Tabb envies Clarets' Premier League status

by Anthony Smith

Comments (0) | Print | Email

Up for the challenge: Jay Tabb could start against Burnley on Saturday, the side who beat Reading in last season's play-offs.

JAY Tabb says Reading owe Burnley one for denying them a place in the Premier League.

The Royals suffered an agonising 3-0 defeat to the Clarets in last year's Championship play semi-finals, losing 1-0 at Turf Moor and 2-0 at the Madejski Stadium.

And Burnley, then managed by Owen Coyle, went on to beat a Sheffield United side including Reading's Brian Howard in the Wembley final to secure their place in the top-flight.

Now the Royals have the opportunity to exact their revenge in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round clash at the Madejski Stadium (12.45pm ko).

Brian McDermott's side have already caused one major upset by knocking out Liverpool in the previous round and Tabb would love to claim another top-flight scalp.

"I'd just broken into the team when we played Burnley in the play-offs and I think we were the better side up at Turf Moor," he recalled.

"But the tide turned when they got a penalty right at the end and we had a man (Andre Bikey) sent off.

"Then in the home leg we started really well again but they scored two worldie goals to put us out. That summed up the way our season ended really.

"So we owe them one and hopefully we can do that in the FA Cup this weekend."

And he also admitted: "Sometimes when I look at Burnley I think that could be us in the Premier League.

"But it wasn't to be and you can't dwell on the past. Fair play to them, they're doing very well there and they are proof that you get what you deserve in football because they deserved to go up.

"They went on to beat Sheffield United in the final so you can't begrudge them it too much, although we still kind of owe them."

Reading's FA Cup run has been a welcome distraction from the pressures of their relegation battle in the Championship.

And Tabb believes that a victory on Saturday could help spark an improvement in their league form, with a difficult trip to promotion-chasing Sheffield United to follow at Bramall Lane next Tuesday night (7.45pm ko).

"We can take confidence from the FA Cup because the two performances against Liverpool were excellent," he argued.

"It shows we've got the talent but we need to be more consistent. We've got 21 league games left to make something out of our season.

"Sheffield United is definitely a bigger game than Burnley in my opinion. If you look at the league table we need to string some wins together and have a little unbeaten run.

"But the Cup can also be good because you can build up a bit of form. We should have taken the Liverpool performance to Nottingham Forest last weekend but we didn't and lost.

"But Burnley gives us another chance to do that. When you are a kid the FA Cup is the competition you look to so it's still a massive game.

"You want to go as far as you can and hopefully we will take some confidence from Saturday and take that up to Sheffield."

Last weekend's defeat at Forest was Tabb's first start since the 1-1 draw at Bristol City on December 19 when he conceded a penalty.

And the 25-year-old has some fond memories of past FA Cup campaigns.

"I once got to the fifth round with Brentford when we lost to Southampton when they were in the Premier League," he said.

"I also had a good run with Coventry two years ago when we beat Blackburn 4-1 in the third round.

"So I've had some great memories of it and if you get another television game you can make a lot of money.

"In some ways the further you get the easier game you want. But I was a Chelsea fan when I was younger so I suppose I'd like to play there, although we've got to get past Burnley first."

The tie is being broadcast live on the internet at www.thefa.com and will also be screened by a large number of global television networks.