Joe Garner’s loan move to Carlisle United is set to be extended by a further month, the Watford Observer understands.

The Hornets striker played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat to Notts County but both Garner and manager Greg Abbott admitted beforehand they were keen to prolong his stay at Brunton Park.

"I'm very happy here and I think I've got more to come," Garner told the club’s official website.

"It's a good group of lads and I'm getting regular football, so if something could be sorted out I'd definitely want to stay."

"I think Joe has improved as the month has gone on," Abbott said of the forward, who has made four starts since moving last month.

"He needs regular football and he'll get better and better the more he plays. You could see what his goal at Walsall meant to him and he enjoys being here. It's one where I think he would benefit from having a good spell of time with us.

"We're going to make contact over the next couple of days to see if the loan can be extended because he won't be available for Tuesday unless we can make that one work. I think Joe is keen to stay, we're keen to keep him and we just need Watford to rubber stamp it."

The forward is in his second spell with the League One club, having scored 19 goals in 53 appearances between January 2007 and July 2008, before securing a £1.14m move to Nottingham Forest.