Hendrie eyes loan

Last updated : 06 December 2005 By Norris Winter

The 28-year-old Chavster, who made his first start of the season at the Barcodes on Saturday, said: "I’m not happy. A loan move would mean games for me. A four or five week loan would not hurt - it's an option to get games under my belt. This is a massive month. There's a lot of games over the Christmas period - things could all change or I could still be in the same situation I am in now. I have felt like crying at times and have never had a run like this out of the team. Results have not been going for us but I still can't get in the team."


He is hardly renowned for them but this seems a fair comment. Despite a lacklustre start to the season, many feel David O'Leary has done too little to shake things up with the side, keeping faith with players in his squad whose form is at rock bottom (Patrik Berger) or are plainly terrible (Eirik Bakke). There is perhaps an argument to drop Gareth Barry to left-back and put Hendrie in midfield but if the Chavster is unhappy, Tubbs seems perfectly unaware of it. "Lee has had to wait. He hasn't moaned. He's got on with it and I'm delighted for him.


"Lee has not been out of the team because he is a bad player. He's been out because a good player [Milner] has been playing well. I am trying to build up that level of competition for places here. That's what I believe in. He had a chance at the weekend but I've also got to judge it on a lad who has been playing over a long period."