THE sacking of Djibril Diawara just three weeks after Akinori Nishizawa's contract was terminated suggests the continental loan market is not all it is cracked up to be .

But the success of Bruno N'Gotty has encouraged Sam Allardyce to continue his search for temporary transfers.

Short of funds - as he has been all along - he reckons that is his best hope of strengthening his survival squad - even though he admits the Nishizawa and Diawara deals turned out to be mistakes.

Both arrived in a blaze of glory.

There were great expectations of the French defender-cum-midfielder, considering the effort Allardyce made to sign him from Torino after failing by a matter of hours to bring him on board before last season's transfer deadline. And there were equally high hopes for Nishizawa - provided he could make the necessary adjustments.

Wanderers were disappointed on both counts.

But the manager, who has used the loan market at home and abroad to good effect in his 27 months at the helm, is undeterred.

The news that N'Gotty's loan from Marseille has now been converted into a permanent transfer has more than made up for the Diawara disappointment.

"He has enjoyed his time with us and we have taken the opportunity to sign a very good, experienced and talented player for the rest of this season and two more," Allardyce said after agreeing the deal with the Frenchman.

"He has played in Italy and France and his record has been very good. Since we've had our injury problems he has been one of our best players."

N'Gotty has built a big reputation for himself in Europe down the years and is respected by team-mates and opponents alike.

Newcastle's Olivier Bernard, who as a 15-year-old used to rub shoulders with N'Gotty - then a member of the French national squad - recalls: "I was in awe of him when we were together at Lyon."