CHRIS LAKEY Glenn Roeder believes his four loan players will be better off playing in the Championship than returning to their Premiership clubs.Roeder has begun talks with four top-flight managers as he tries to secure new deals for defender Mo Camara, striker Ched Evans and midfielders Matty Pattison and Jimmy Smith, whose loan from Chelsea ends after today's game.

CHRIS LAKEY

Glenn Roeder believes his four loan players will be better off playing in the Championship than returning to their Premiership clubs.

Roeder has begun talks with four top-flight managers as he tries to secure new deals for defender Mo Camara, striker Ched Evans and midfielders Matty Pattison and Jimmy Smith, whose loan from Chelsea ends after today's game.

The other three are all contracted until after the New Year's Day game against Crystal Palace, but Roeder is keen to see them all stay until the end of the season.

Roeder is convinced that playing full parts in City's relegation battle is preferable to reserve team football - a situation central defender Martin Taylor is now experiencing at Birmingham after their refusal to allow him to stay at Carrow Road.

"I will be talking to Paul Jewell (Derby) about Mo and we will need to talk to Sam Allardyce at Newcastle about Pattison," Roeder said. "Both players have done well - all the loan players have done well, and that includes obviously Martin, who has gone back to Birmingham to play in the reserves.

"I think the loan signings have had a major influence on what has happened here in the last six or seven weeks, as well as the players that have been involved a lot. They have regained their confidence."

Chelsea's Frank Arnesen and Tord Grip, Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant, have been keeping an eye on Smith and Evans respectively. Now he just needs four positive answers - but says the evidence is in his favour.

"Until the ink has dried you never know, but I can't see any reason why they should want to take them back," he said.