There is a very clear and specific reason why players go out on loan: to prove that they have the talent to make it. Yet there is a fair degree of risk that the move either proves otherwise or else that the wrong stage had been chosen for the player.

The latter was the case for Robbie Threlfall. Having done well there last season, Hereford was once again chosen as his destination for the first half of the season. Unfortunately, injury struck soon after he joined and when he recovered he went into a team struggling desperately against relegation.

Not the exactly the ideal conditions for the left back who during his time with the youths and reserves had shown that he had the ability and determination to play at a higher level than this.

As indeed he has the opportunity to prove in the second half of the campaign. Because from a relegation fight he now goes into a promotion push with Stockport, a move that will offer its own set of challenges not least is the necessity to win a place in the side.

It is nevertheless a positive move, not only because it shows that Threlfall was good enough to catch the eye despite the circumstances but also because it puts him in a better position to impress.

Whether that is good enough for Liverpool is to be seen because the reality is that whatever possibilities Threlfall had of making it to the first team they were swept away as soon as Emiliano Insua was signed from Boca Juniors. That the Argentine has taken so well to first team football strengthens the feeling that Threlfall's future is away from Anfield.

Yet that another player comes in and proves to be better is the reality at any club let alone one with Liverpool's ambitions. Indeed, all that remains for Threlfall is to take comfort in Stockport's interest in him and keep on working hard to impress those watching.