Nottingham Forest boss Billy Davies will look to sign players outright in the January transfer window rather than do loan deals. He said: "I am against, as I have said, bringing in loan players. I don't want to borrow the neighbour's lawn mower and start to cut my grass, only for him to come and ask for it back before my lawn is finished.

"That is what happened to us last season with Nicky Shorey and I am very wary of that. If we are here to develop and progress this club, permanent signings are a must. They are the way forward.

"We missed a very good opportunity in the summer. Look at the type of players we tried to get. Darren Pratley has physical presence, he has the qualities that we are after. And we need to be looking at that kind of thing again."