THIS time last year young Watford goalkeeper Scott Loach would not have dreamed that he would be spending his summer holidays as part of the England U21 squad.

The 21-year-old was called up to Stuart Pearce's 23-man squad for the trip to Sweden this summer to compete in the UEFA Euro 2009 tournament.

"Sweden is good!" Loach told www.watfordfc.com when we called him to have a chat about his international experiences, "Although the weather isn't as nice as it was at the training camp in Spain - that was brilliant!

"In Spain, we stayed in the hills in a golf resort with a nice pitch that was fenced off, so we had the space and privacy to focus."

Although the training was considerably shorter compared to the London Colney sessions Loach is used to, he said that they were still very intense.

"We had a concentrated training session from 9.00am-11.00am every morning then we had to rest in the afternoon; partly because of the weather, and partly because we wanted to prevent any kind of injury as much as possible.

"It is similar here in Sweden now. The coaches don't want to stretch us because of injuries and the amount of games we have to play in the time we have.

"Stuart Peace, our assistant coach Steve Wigley and the goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas took the sessions and I really enjoyed training with the other lads.

"Some of them have Premiership experience as well, so it was good to work in an environment like that and it gave us a chance to get to know each other and bond as a group before coming out here."

Loach: "Everyone deserves to be in that changing room"

The squad played Azerbaijan in a warm-up friendly on Monday at MK Dons and won comfortably 7-0. The match received national coverage thanks to an unusual goalkeeping situation!

"Monday was a strange match - Lee Cattermole got injured and had to come off, and we didn't have any substitutes left on the bench, so Stuart Pearce turned around to me and Joe Lewis (Peterborough United's goalkeeper) who were sat on the bench and said "Which one of you wants to go up front?!"

"I said to Joe that he could and he seemed alright with that! Personally I wanted to earn my cap as a goalkeeper as that's what I do…I'm not much of an outfield player anyway!

"I was really pleased to earn my third cap for England when I came on for Joe Hart on 82 minutes" the Hornets' stopper revealed.

"It's great to get the experience, even if it's when we were so ahead in the game and it was more of a cameo appearance for me.

"I made a save that I was really pleased about and that gives me the confidence now to take into the Euro matches."

For the young player, it's clear he's just enjoying every minute of the experience, from the nice surroundings to training with the other lads.

"The hotels we've stayed in have been amazing!" he joked.

"I'm just so pleased to be here. I never thought that I'd be getting my third cap so soon and it's about the whole experience, not just playing."

The Watford goalie is relishing the opportunity to learn from the other players

"It's good to get a chance to train with other more experienced goalkeepers, like Joe Hart who plays week-in week-out in the Premiership.

"Every goalkeeper has their own technique and style, like every footballer, but there are always things you can pick up on and learn from other people, just by watching them play and train.

"I obviously know that Joe Hart is number one, but it's so great just to be considered and we're on the bench if anything goes wrong."

During their Euro 2009 campaign, England will be facing tough opposition from Finland, Italy and Germany but the Nottingham-born 'keeper is confident.

"Looking ahead to the tournament in Spain, the preparations have gone well, and winning on Monday was a definite confidence booster. We will be fielding our strongest side during the competition, there's no doubt about that.

"Everyone deserves to be in that changing room, so it's similar to when you play for your club.

"You have to gell with everyone a lot quicker with internationals though and all pull together, and that's why going away to Spain beforehand was really good.

"I think we're very prepared for the Euros and I'm looking forward to Monday's match!"

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