James Kaloczi has been loaned out to Wingate and Finchley for the first month of the season.

The 19-year-old has been used sparingly during St Albans City’s pre-season but started at centre-back alongside Tom Ward in Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Stevenage.

To say he was outstanding would be an understatement as he looked good in the air, strong in the tackle and distributed the ball confidently.

But, with Ben Martin returning to the squad from holiday and Darren Locke and Tom Ward ahead of him in the pecking order, Gray is sending Kaloczi to the Ryman Premier League side to get more minutes under his belt.

“We’ve had in-depth conversations with him and we have massive, massive hopes for him at the club,” explained joint manager James Gray.

“We just feel he needs experience away from here so he can get a new lease of life and maybe eight games in a month and pick up experience.”

When talking about his performance against Boro, Gray added: “I thought he was outstanding; he was comfortable on the ball.

“If he gets to where I think he needs to be aerially and strength wise then we have a real player on our hands. I’m really pleased for him because he’s been a bit down in the dumps recently as he’s not played as much as he would have liked.”

A month away from Clarence Park is just what Kaloczi needs to build his confidence so he can make a real push for the starting line-up when he returns, according to Gray.

“I see James as a centre-half. He can play in midfield but his best asset is at centre-half and [against Stevenage] he was outstanding.

“I know the manager at Wingate and I know they play the right way and they have good pitch and he’ll pick up experience. When he comes back he’ll be in the better position to fight for a shirt.”