Coventry City have found a temporary solution to their goalkeeper crisis by signing West Ham's Stephen Bywater on loan until the end of the year.
The England Under-21 international agreed to the temporary switch yesterday, and manager Micky Adams hopes that he will provide some decent competition for summer signing Clayton Ince.
Bywater, who joined the Hammers from Rochdale for £300,000 in 1998, has struggled to establish himself as first choice at Upton Park and has subsequently spent much of his time on loan spells, at Wycombe Wanderers, Hull City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City.
The 24-year old had seemed to have made the breakthrough last season when he chalked up 38 of his 67 appearances to date for the Londoners, which incidently, included a 2-1 defeat at Highfield Road.
He also featured in the Hammers' 1-0 Championship play-off triumph against Preston, stepping in for the last few minutes when Jimmy Walker suffered a knee injury.
However the arrival of Roy Carroll from Manchester United and Shaka Hislop from Portsmouth means that Bywater has little chance at making a name for himself in the capital.
"I knew it would be hard getting in the team at West Ham when they signed Roy Carroll," admitted Bywater.
"You don't buy the Manchester United goalkeeper to have him sit on the bench.
"Then when Shaka arrived it was clear I would have to go on loan to play some first-team football.
"Alan Pardew told me that he would like me to play and that going on loan would improve me as a goalkeeper.
"I had several offers from some very good sides, but the prospect of playing under Micky Adams in a new 32,000-seater stadium at Coventry was too good to turn down."