'I feel good, I feel confident and I feel prepared' (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak doesn't rule out permanent switch to Watford after his loan ends

11:00am Friday 24th February 2012 in Herts' Headlines By Frank Smith, Deputy Group Sports Editor

Picture: Action Images

“Right place at the right moment” is how Tomasz Kuszczak described his loan move to Watford and the Manchester United goalkeeper has not ruled out the switch becoming permanent at the end of the season.

Since leaving Hertha Berlin as a 22-year-old, Kuszczak has been playing in the Premier League, Champions League and for his national team Poland.

He only played 35 times during his three years at West Bromwich Albion but it was enough to persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to sign the goalkeeper.

Kuszczak has been limited to 48 outings at Old Trafford as he was understudy to Edwin Van der Sar but he was still viewed as second choice, making ten appearances last season and was on the bench for most of the campaign including the Champions League final.

However, the signing of David de Gea and the increased use of Anders Lindegaard has resulted in Kuszczak becoming surplus to requirements at Old Trafford and Sir Alex confirmed that he expects the 6ft 3ins ‘keeper to leave when his contract expires in the summer.

When asked if he was open to a move to a club like Watford on a permanent basis, despite plying his trade at the highest level for most of his career, Kuszczak replied: “Of course, I never close doors.”

“I am open minded,” he continued. “I want something new; I want to see how the football is in the Championship, get some games under my belt and just open options for myself.

“First of all, it is about enjoying my football. I enjoy being on the pitch, being under pressure and I didn’t have that.

“I am at the best age for a goalkeeper and I hope this loan is going to help me move forward, play games and put my career on the right path.”

It is an important couple of months for Kuszczak as not only does his contract with Man United expire in the summer, but he is desperate to play for Poland in the European Championships on home soil.

But Kuszczak stressed on more than one occasion that he has missed football in general and is desperate to get back playing competitively again.

He said: “It is very important to me because during your football career, you have times when you have to prove yourself – whether it is in the Premier League or the Championship, the Champions League or the Carling Cup.

“You have to be on the top of your game. Everyone makes mistakes but it must be limited and every game is important, that is why I am excited about coming here and playing first team football and see what happens after this period.”

Kuszczak was enjoying his football at Manchester United last season as he was involved with the squad on a regular basis, even if he only made ten appearances during the 2010/11 campaign. This season, he has been restricted to reserve matches.

He said: “It is difficult but I have been training really hard even though I was really disappointed.

“Last season I was involved in the first team all season long, played some games and was on the bench for the Champions League final. It was great to win the Premier League and it was a great season.

“But after that it stopped, and I have been out of the first team and it was tough for me not to be involved. But I moved forward and kept training hard because I knew I would have the chance to go somewhere and play football.

“I am still young, have a lot of experience; training with great players, winning trophies and played under different pressure.

“I had the chance to come here and I took it straight away because there is still two months of football, 14 games, and it is important for me to play again before the season finishes.

“At the beginning of next season, I will either go somewhere or stay here but it is definitely a time when I want to start to play and enjoy my football because I miss that.”

Kuszczak has a girlfriend and daughter who will remain in Macclesfield during his loan spell at Watford and he hopes to find an apartment close to the club’s training ground as “I don't like hotels”.

The current hour-and-40-minutes commute is not an issue for the goalkeeper though and he does not think his lack of football this season will be too much of an issue either as he is happy with his conditioning.

Kuszczak said: “The game is a question of having the right concentration and I am not saying that players who haven’t played in a while will be in their best form straight away but some players are injured for a year and come back, play a few games and are in the right form.

“I feel good, I feel confident and I feel prepared. Maybe it sounds stupid but I feel I am in the right place at the right moment.

“Let’s see how I look in the next couple of games but I am excited and I hope everything is going to move in the right direction.”