Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers will not let Stephen Dobbie go out on loan to find some first team football.

The 29-year old forward has been restricted to just eight league appearances this season after being a key member of the squad that won promotion to the Premier League last term.

Rodgers can understand Dobbie's frustration at not playing regularly but will block a potential loan as he wants as much depth as possible for the Swans during the business end of the campaign.

"I have got empathy for Stephen. But I have to protect the club so none of the senior players will be going out," Rodgers said.

"I have spoken to Stephen to explain the situation and I'm sure he has been frustrated not to make the squads.

"But the players are well paid, so it's just unlucky for them and he has to get on with it. "The great thing about him is that he is not driven by money - he is purely driven by playing football.

"But ultimately I have got to think about what happens at Swansea City.

"Look at what happened last week - all of a sudden we lost two players in a couple of days to injury in Joe Allen and Kemy Agustien.

"We could well lose more players over a longer period and, when that happens, I need players at Swansea who I can call on."

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