Allen has signed four loanees since his appointment two weeks ago

Cheltenham Town manager Martin Allen has signed two young players on one-month loans from Premier League clubs.

Lewis Montrose, 19, joins the Robins from Wigan, while 17-year-old Josh Payne has signed from West Ham.

Boss Martin Allen told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "We've got a lot of senior players, I brought two in last week - Drissa Diallo and Scott Murray.

"I'm very pleased with them but we need some younger legs and some energy and these two are very good players."

Both play in central midfield but are versatile, Montrose can play at right-back and Payne in central defence.

Montrose played in the Carling Cup earlier this season, while Payne, who is youth-team captain at West Ham, has no first-team experience.

Explaining how the Montrose move came about, Allen admitted previous dealings with Wigan boss Steve Bruce had helped.

"Steve has always been very good to me since I sold DJ Campbell to him at Birmingham," he said.

"I've seen him [Montrose] play, he's a big strong boy - very competitive, a good athlete, and gets his foot in, he's hungry and he's got a good attitude.

"There were no complications he just wanted to know he'd be involved with the first team."

Allen's hopes for Payne are equally high, and he is predicting big things for the youngster, although he admits there is an element of risk in taking someone so young.

"I've seen him quite a few times now, I've always been impressed with him, he's got terrific character, he's a very good footballer and we're lucky to get him, a lot of clubs wanted him.

"He'll be good for the team and hopefully it'll be good for his long-term development because one day he's going to be a Premier League player."