I didn't expect to be on the bench for all of these games but it is one of those things you have to deal with.

It can happen in football and it is the gaffer's decision. At this stage of the season, with just four games left, you have to wait for your opportunity and then make the most of it.

You have to stay positive and you are willing the boys on all you can because every point matters.

I think this shows that despite the fact people think I am a guaranteed starter in every game, that is not the case.

You have to earn your place and keep working hard.

I was on a scoring streak and then I was rested after the Preston game. People thought it was strange that I was rested but the gaffer made a decision that he thought would get the best out of me.

After that game I didn't score for four games and then I scored the winner against Coventry and then came out to Bermuda.

When I got back I expected to be rested - playing three games in a week with all that travelling is a lot at this stage of the season.

I have said before that I don't want to be the sort of player at the club that can be forgotten about when I go away which is why I didn't want to risk things at Reading to go back to Bermuda earlier on.

But I wanted to play in the Nicaragua game and it was unfortunate that it came at a time when I hadn't scored for a while and they other guys were doing well.

I have been on the bench ever since. The gaffer hasn't explained why, but that doesn't happen at this level. If you are being dropped from the team you are normally told why - which I was - but when you are already on the bench, there is no need to tell a player why.

All you can do is keep working hard and wait for a chance and make the most of it when it comes.

It might look like I am not starting games but I have actually started 27 out of the 38 games this season. I was injured for about six and have been away as well.

It is not as many as I am used to - it has been around 40 games normally for me - but it is just one of the things that happens in football.

I'm very happy at Reading and I want to continue playing well and making the most of my games and making it hard for the gaffer to drop me - that is all you can do in football.

Our play-off chances aren't over yet, but we are going to have to probably get three wins and a draw if we want to make it. The teams above us aren't going to be slipping up so we have to make sure we get the points.

We haven't got the consistency of some of the bigger teams and there have been games where we haven't been getting the results even though we probably should have.

Games like the Bradford one we should have won. They are the sort of team you want to play at this stage of the season but teams like Norwich, who know they are only a few points away from promotion are much harder.

Playing two games in quick succession and not getting the results is tough for us. Straight after that game we were all very dejected and thinking that our chances were over for the season.

But when the adrenaline and the emotion wore off, we looked at the table again and thought ‘no, we can do this, but we are going to need another ten points from our last few games'.

It will be tough but we will work hard and see what is possible.