the 2002–03 relegation campaign, and was sent off for the third and final time in his career in a 2–0 defeat by Paços de Ferreira on 4 May; he was shown a red card on 73 minutes despite being an unused substitute. Vitória Setúbal again won promotion at the first attempt in 2003–04, though Tábuas played only three league games as the club secured the second automatic promotion place. He played a total of 20 matches in the 2004–05 season, and was an unused substitute at the club won the Taça de Portugal with a 2–1 victory over league champions Benfica. He was also an unused substitute in the 2005 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira at the Estádio Algarve, where Benfica achieved some revenge over Vitória Setúbal with a 1–0 victory. He was appointed as the club's second captain, and spoke in defence of the club after a financial crisis meant the players considered strike action after wages went unpaid at the Estádio do Bonfim for months on end. He played 11 games in the 2005–06 season, and was an unused substitute in the 2006 Taça de Portugal Final at the Estádio Nacional, as Porto defeated Vitória Setúbal 1–0. He started the 2006 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira match at the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, as new signing Nikola Milojević was unable to secure a work permit in time; Vitória Setúbal were beaten 3–0 by Porto. He went on to feature in just four further matches in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons, including a second appearance in the UEFA Cup, as Vitória Setúbal lost 3–0 at home to Heerenveen on 14 September 2006. In July 2008, Tábuas was released by Vitória Setúbal and joined Torreense in the Segunda Divisão - Série D (third tier). He made 29 league and cup appearances in the 2008–09 campaign, before he returned to Alentejo to play for Aljustrelense. He played 15 Segunda Divisão Zona Sul games in the 2009–10 season, and announced his retirement at the end of the campaign. Coaching career Tábuas coached at Gouveia from July 2014 to June 2015, and then at Eléctrico from July 2015 to April 2016. In July 2016, he was appointed as goalkeeping coach at English League One club Port Vale by manager Bruno Ribeiro. He departed Vale Park after Ribeiro resigned in December 2016. Career statistics Honours Vitória Setúbal Segunda Liga second-place promotion: 2003–04; third-place promotion: 2000–01 Supertaça