Published: Friday, 28th November, 2008 10:00am

Bryn unsure of starting berth

by Anthony Smith

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BRYNJAR Gunnarsson may be stuck on the bench for Monday's televised clash against Coventry City despite his Ninian Park heroics (Sky Sports 8pm ko).

The 33-year-old midfielder came on during the first-half of Tuesday night's 2-2 draw at Cardiff to tighten things up after Andre Bikey had been harshly sent off.

But he ended up slotting home a superb equaliser shortly after the interval to rescue a vital point for 10-man Royals.

Whether that will be enough to force his way into Steve Coppell's starting line-up against the Sky Blues is another matter.

Coppell's first priority will be picking a replacement for Bikey who now faces a three match ban. And with Michael Duberry now fit again, Reading's manager is likely to go with a specialist defender rather than ask Kalifa Cisse or Gunnarsson, both essentially midfielders, to do a temporary job.

However, Gunnarsson is staying optimistic for now: "I guess I have a dropped the manager a little reminder," he said. "It was nice to score, especially as it was my first of the season and it ended up being an equaliser.

"But whether or not I start, the main things is that I will be ready to play if and when I am needed."

Gunnarsson's sweet finish in the 49th minute came from a Stephen Hunt cross and Royals held on for the remainder of the game despite being a man short.

"We were down to 10- men but we still had to try and get a goal back," explained the Iceland international. "We won a free-kick out on the left and we knew we had to get people into their box. We did that and we got our rewards.

"It was probably our only chance in the second-half and I was glad that I managed to take it so it was good point for us in the end."

Good point thought it was, Royals still lost ground on leaders Wolves and second-placed Birmingham City who both won against Sheffield United and Ipswich Town respectively.

Coppell's men are now 12 points adrift of Wolves and six behind the Blues, though they do play each other this weekend in a top-of-the-table clash.

And Gunnarsson insisted: "It doesn't change anything for us. We've got a home game against Coventry next week and we will be trying to get the three points, as we do every match.

"Maybe the next 10 games or so will give us some clue as to how things will pan out at the end of the season. But there is still a long way to go.

"Wolves play Birmingham this Saturday but we can only look after ourselves and try to pick up as many points as possible.

"Obviously, we look at the table now and again and wonder if we will catch the top two teams. It's not good to have a gap and I guess you don't want other teams to get too comfortable. But we're not half-way through the season yet."

Royals desperately require a drastic improvement on their shabby display last Saturday when a 2-1 defeat to struggling Southampton ended their unbeaten home record.

It was also their first Championship loss in 30 games on their home turf and they are unlikely to have an easy ride against Coventry, a club they have rarely done well against in recent years.

"It was very disappointing because we didn't play well against Southampton," admitted Gunnarsson. "We just couldn't put any passes together. We'd make one or two then lose the ball. We just couldn't get into any rhythm and there were a few other problems that compounded that.

"It's not like us. We've been very comfortable and confident on our own ground. We usually pass it well but it didn't happen for us and we have to learn from it.

"Coventry are a good side and we don't expect an easy game. But we've got to try and get back to playing the way we know we can in front of our own fans."

ROYALS are reviewing ticket and merchandise prices after announcing their support of the Government's initiative to reduce VAT from 17.5% to 15%.