GRANT LEADBITTER wants to focus on the positives after Middlesbrough's winning run came to an end on Saturday.

Boro were looking to extend their run of victories to eight games at Reading, which would have opened up a five-point gap between themselves and the chasing pack and ensured they went into the international break on top of the Championship.

But the visitors conceded after 15 seconds at the Madejski Stadium through Danny Williams before Nick Blackman added a second from the penalty spot late on, to bring Middlesbrough's impressive run crashing to a halt.

The Royals' victory cut Boro's advantage over them to two points, but with leaders Brighton and Hove Albion dropping points, there are only four points between the top six with the season approaching a quarter of its way in.

Skipper Leadbitter feels that the Teessiders deserve credit for their start to the season under Aitor Karanka and believes the picture is a lot brighter than it could be.

"We were confident coming here, we thought we could win it but unfortunately we didn’t," said the midfielder. "But let’s look at the bigger picture. We’ve played ten games and got 20 points. I think that’s a good start.

"Every team in the league is going to view us as a big scalp. We take it game by game. We lost on Saturday and it was a big disappointment, but we got back into it, didn’t get the equaliser, but ten games in, 20 points, I think that’s a good return.

"It’s early days. It’s always tight in this division, but after 15-16 games the league will be in a different shape and hopefully we’ll be in a good position. At this point you have to say 20 points is a good return."

Boro face Fulham after the international break, by which time Karanka's side will be prepared to begin another run.

Leadbitter added: "We’re disappointed to lose the game against a good outfit, but we move on now. We have a two-week break and we can look forward to the next game.

"They got an early goal and we knew that whoever scored first would probably go on to win the game. I felt we dealt with it well and fought back but unfortunately we couldn’t get the equaliser."