Royals boss Brian McDermott has paid tribute to Andy Griffin, Brian Howard and Tomasz Cywka following the news that the trio are among those leaving Madejski Stadium this summer.

All three are moving on after making important contributions to the club under McDermott's stewardship.

Brian on Andy Griffin: "Griff has been a really important player for us, he was my first signing at the club and when he came in he added real experience, it was incredibly important when we were struggling against relegation.

"He is out with us and the whole squad in Spain at the moment, and that says something about the person and the relationships he has. We will always have a bond between us for the rest of our lives after what he did."

McDermott on Brian Howard: "He is a proper bloke, and I said to him if he was ten years older I'd have him on my staff. He unfortunately hasn't had too many opportunities, but we all remember when we had the FA Cup run, he played a lot of games, scored at West Brom and he is a real football man with such a knowledge of the game."

Boss on Tomasz Cywka: "I've only known Tomasz for a short time but he is an absolutely top class pro. He is very talented and is probably unlucky [to be leaving], in the Premier League you have a 25-man squad and it was a tough call, it really was. He turned down a long deal in Poland to sign for us in January and I am sure he will end up in England again now. He made a real contribution in games and in training, and everything that is good in football you find with Tomasz Cywka."

For full details on our contract plans click here. Check back on Thursday for more from Brian including news on Brynjar Gunnarsson, Ian Harte and new signings.