Malky Mackay confirms Scott Loach will stay with Watford for rest of season (From Watford Observer)

Malky Mackay confirms Scott Loach will stay with Watford for rest of season

9:00am Saturday 6th February 2010 in

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Scott Loach will "absolutely" be at Watford for the remainder of this season, Malky Mackay has confirmed.

Loach has been linked with a string of Premier League clubs for most of this season, predominantly Tottenham Hotspur.

And on Monday, the last day of the January transfer window, Spurs finally made their move by offering to take Loach on loan until the end of the season, with a view to making the switch permanent in the summer for £2m.

This was subsequently rejected and contrary to reports in the national press, a further bid of £3m was not made by Harry Redknapp.

The threat of administration increased speculation Loach would be sold in January due to him being the club’s most valuable playing asset but Mackay stated he is under no pressure to sell the 21-year-old.

He said: "Credit to [chairman] Graham Taylor and [chief executive] Julian Winter who backed me to the hilt and did not accept Spurs' bid.

"There would have been a time where we would have had to accept whatever but we were under no pressure to sell Scott Loach.

"I have to add that Scott, his family and his advisors did not want to leave right now. They realise Scott hasn't had a full season yet and he has an England Under-21 spot to guard and if he sits on a bench somewhere then he isn’t playing.

"Scott put us under no pressure by asking to leave which allowed me say 'no thank you'."

The emergency loan window reopens on Monday but Mackay is adamant any approaches to take Loach on loan will be rebuffed.

Mackay said: "He will absolutely be here for the rest of the season. He will definitely be here for the rest of the season, that is one absolute."

Loach joined Watford in the summer of 2006 after catching the eye while at Lincoln City, who have a sell-on clause of around 15 per cent.

Loan spells at Stafford Rangers, Morecambe and Bradford City, where he played 20 times, followed in the 2007/08 campaign.

The following season saw Loach cement the number one spot ahead of Mart Poom and Richard Lee and his displays earned a call-up to the England Under-21 squad.

Now first choice for club and country, Loach is happy to stay at Watford for the rest of this season but has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier League.

Speaking after the 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers in December, when Tottenham assistant manager Joe Jordan, first-team coach Kevin Bond and chief scout Ian Broomfield came to watch him play, Loach said: "I am playing football week-in, week-out with great lads. I think my time will come eventually, I just have to keep playing.

"If Tottenham were to knock on the door and I was to go there, then brilliant but at the minute it is Malky and Watford.

"I am confident that I will play in the Premier League one day, but at the moment I have to concentrate on getting Watford to the Premier League."

Mackay has regularly stated he believes Loach's career would benefit from him staying at Watford for the rest of this season at least.

But the former Scotland international claims he would take "great pride" from seeing Loach play in the Premier League and for the full national side.

Mackay said: "I have a young goalkeeper and a young team I want to attack the second half of the season with and I could have done without losing my keeper on the last day of the transfer window.

"I am under no illusions that Scott will become a Premier League goalkeeper and I hope I get to see him pull on a full England shirt one day and it would give me great pride to see that, for him, his family and [goalkeeping coach] Alec Chamberlain, who has been working with him for three years and we have seen progression over those three years to the point where we are now."