BRENTFORD boss Uwe Rosler has defended his decision to send striker  Paul Hayes out on loan.

The summer arrival from Charlton Athletic joined League One rivals Crawley Town last week after failing to feature in any of the last six games.

Hayes, who netted just six times in 30 matches, has been left kicking his heels on the sidelines while Clayton Donaldson, Marcello Trotta and Bradley Wright-Phillips are rotated in attack.

But Rosler hopes the former Scunthorpe frontman will come back firing on all cylinders next month to boost Brentford's options heading into the final few games.

He said: “Paul has not started in a while, and with the hectic run of games we've had recently, most of our training sessions are spent recovering or preparing for matches.

“It's been difficult to keep him match-fit, so we decided to send him out on loan to get games under his belt, improve his confidence and fitness.

“We hope he can have a real impact when he comes back.

“We still have three strikers at the club, plus Farid [El Alagui] is on his way back to fitness, so we are covered in that position.”

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest Brentford news.

Follow me on Twitter .