Zinckernagel still wants to stay for season

PHILIP Zinckernagel says he has made clear to Watford he wants to spend the whole season with Nottingham Forest, despite his parent club holding a January recall clause.

The on-loan attacker has been a key player for the Reds since joining in the summer, making 21 appearances so far and bagging three goals as they have pushed up the table under Steve Cooper.

The Premier League Hornets have an option to end his spell at the City Ground early, next month – standard practice in loan deals.

But Zinckernagel says he stressed from the start that he doesn’t want that to happen and is enjoying his time on the banks of the Trent.

“That was one of the things we said when I arrived here, that I’m willing to go here on loan for the full season. I don’t want to go here for a couple of months and then go back,” said the Dane. “I want to just play regularly, play a lot of games over a period.

“That was one of the agreements we made.

“It’s nice to know that I’m here for the full season. But it’s all about just being here every day, doing my job and trying to be as good as possible, then we’ll see how it goes.

“It’s also nice that the medical team at Watford follows up on me and asks me how I feel.

“I think it’s normal procedure, but it gives me some confidence that I can just be here and try to develop for the full season.

“The Championship is actually really exciting when you get into after January, because that’s when you have all the tight games. That’s when the season really is exciting because that’s when things get decided – if you are going to play for top six or not.

“That’s the fun part of being a part of the Championship.

“It would be sad to leave in January – when you’ve played so many games and you’re trying to get into the top six and you want to play for play-offs, then it would be kind of sad not to be a part of that.”

Like Forest, Watford have changed manager since the 26-year-old made the move north.

Claudio Ranieri replaced Xisco Munoz in October, but Zinckernagel says that doesn’t change his situation with the Reds.

“I’m here for the season, so that’s what I’m aiming for. That’s the deal we made,” he added.

“For me, that’s where my concern is – to play the full season, to develop and get as many minutes as possible and help this club get as high up the table as possible.

“I speak with the physical department at Watford, just to catch up once in a while. But we haven’t talked about the new manager – it’s not really something that I think about.

“I’m happy here. I like the way we play, I like the manager, I like the group. It’s a nice city and I feel comfortable.

“I feel at home when I’m here, so that’s pretty good.”