Town goalkeeper Scott Loach finds himself in what could be described as a classic Catch-22 situation.

He needs to play regularly in order to achieve the sort of consistency expected of a first-choice keeper — but with Dean Gerken currently manager Mick McCarthy’s first choice he has to be content with only occasional appearances.

Tonight’s FA Cup third round replay at Preston is one such game and Loach can do nothing more than put on an impressive display and hope that victory for his side will at least earn him another senior outing in the fourth round tie at Nottingham Forest scheduled for Friday week.

Loach said: “It’s true that you need a run of games to get to your best and I had that at Watford. I went in as a raw 19 or 20-year-old and Malky Mackay left me in. I played around 130 games in a row and I that’s probably how I got to where I am today.

“You need games to improve and I don’t want to settle as a number two. It’s going to be something we have to look at in the next couple of months. In the meantime all I can do is keep working hard. You never know in football — anything can happen and I’ve got to be ready for that.”

Asked if he had spoken at any length about the situation to McCarthy he replied: “Not a lot, really. He’s one of them who just wants you to be professional and keep working hard. It’s not just with me, it’s all the lads throughout the team.

“I’m always in early at the training ground, trying to do that little bit extra to improve. That’s all I can do and then, if I’m called upon, I’ve got to put a performance in.

“It is tough when you haven’t played that much football. It depends, really. If the spine of the team is still in there you can kind of get away with it if everyone gels together.

“But in the first game against Preston a few of us hadn’t played together, although that’s not an excuse for the performance, obviously, because we’re all professional players who should do a better job.

“Yes, it is tough sometimes but that’s what football is about. One minute you can be playing, the next minute you’ve got to be ready to get thrown in at the deep end. So we’ll have no excuses going up to Preston.”

Photo: Action Images

mow_the_lawn added 13:02 - Jan 14 I wouldn't be surprised if Mick got in an older, experienced keeper who's happy to be a number 2 and get Loach out on loan at the end of January.
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bigolconnor added 18:39 - Jan 14 I don't think anyone is happy to be number 2. Except for maybe Rob Lowe
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