Alec Chamberlain is now part of the furniture at Watford after 15 years at the club and you will do well to find anyone who has a bad word to day about the Hornets' goalkeeping coach.

A quick look at Chamberlain's old website shows you how highly he is thought of at Vicarage Road, with the great and the good using every positive adjective you could imagine to describe both the player and the man.

Chamberlain was regarded as an immaculate professional during his playing days and was well-known for being level-headed and someone the fans could relate to.

So when the 47-year-old says he believes Scott Loach should be receiving more support from the Watford fans then it is not just coming from a protective coach.

Chamberlain said Loach was doing "okay" this season and feels the player's form has matched that of the team.

Speaking to the Watford Observer recently, Chamberlain said: "Apart from those real obvious mistakes, I think he is starting to read the game a little bit better and starting to come to the edge of the box more often to clear, which is what we have been looking for.

"Scott has been taking more crosses and I just wish everybody would give him a bit more support really rather than trying to be critical all the time because we all want the same thing.

"We all want Watford to play well, we all want Watford to win and the best way of doing that is having the crowd with you and helping you. And I don't think Scott has always had that baring in mind he is only 23. At times I think we could help him a little bit more."

It is easy to forget Loach is only 23 when you consider he has made more than 200 appearances during his career, if you include England Under-21 outings and loan spells.

With Chamberlain playing into his 40s, he knows more than most that there is still much more to come from Loach and believes the goalkeeper has shown he has potential throughout his young career.

The Nottingham-born shot-stopper has made costly errors this season, most notably in the FA Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and the draw with Bristol City, but Chamberlain praised the way Loach deals with his mistakes and has called on fans to support their goalkeeper.

Chamberlain, speaking before the defeat to Spurs, said: "I don't think it is unfair to expect good performances but I think he needs the chance to keep improving and in a friendlier environment, I am pretty sure everybody would progress that little bit better.

"I think he deals with it really well and I think he has a really good attitude and a way of bouncing back from mistakes. He dusts himself down and gets on with it.

"With the Bristol City mistake, he threw the ball out of the net and got on with it and I think that epitomises his attitude to mistakes. He just tries to get on with his game.

"I appreciate it is not as easy as that for supporters when they are watching a game and are disappointed, as we all are, but what else can you do? You have to play the game and get on with it.

"Everybody makes mistakes, it is how you recover and how you respond. We are working day in and day out towards being as consistent as we can be.

"It is always frustrating from my point of view as well when mistakes are made because you see every day that all the boys train to a really high standard. You almost wish you could put that on the internet at times to show how well they train but ultimately it is about performing under pressure in games at a consistent level.

"Over the 160 games or whatever it is, Scott has been pretty consistent but because two years ago he was talked about going for £2m (to Spurs), there is that expectation now that he has to be perfect all the time and you won't get that from a 32 year old, let alone a 23 year old.

"I always found Watford supporters were really patient with myself and other people and I feel that patience isn't there at times. Maybe it is a sign of the times and people are more expectant."

The relationship between goalkeepers is different to any other position, often described as the 'goalkeeping union'.

Chamberlain works with all of Watford's goalkeepers on a daily basis and he had positive reports on both Rene Gilmartin, Jonathan Bond and Jack Bonham.

Watford's goalkeeping coach was speaking when Gilmartin was still on loan at Yeovil Town and said the Irishman's insistence on continuing to play despite dislocating his finger in the middle of a game shows his strength of character.

Chamberlain said: "When I spoke to their goalkeeping coach and Rene, they were both happy with how the loan was going and he enjoyed playing Saturday-Tuesday and was happier in himself because he had been waiting a long time without that regular football and you just can't beat that.

"He is a brave boy not to miss a game with his dislocated finger but it shows his determination to want to play. I have had a dislocated finger and I can assure you it isn't pleasant when people are thumping balls at you."

Watford's other goalkeeper who saw first team action this season is Bond and the 18-year-old impressed Chamberlain during his professional debut and then his first full 90 minutes for Watford in the FA Cup.

Chamberlain said: "Bondy is very agile for 6ft 4 and makes a lot of saves in training. His biggest asset is the fact he does read the game quite well and he does sweep up and deal with a lot of things before they happen.

"There is obviously areas where he needs to get stronger. Physically he will only get stronger because he is only 18-and-a-half and aspects of his distribution can be tidier.

"He is still a working progress but we are happy with how he is coming a long."