Alan Judge has challenged himself and his teammates to make sure that Saturday’s 2-1 Sky Bet Championship victory over Rotherham United is not just a one-off.
The Bees ended a run of three straight defeat as Alan’s double downed The Millers at Griffin Park, the first a fine lob inside two minutes and his second a header ten minutes into the second-half.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Alan said he is seeing improvements in training and on the pitch but feels they must equal a run of consistent performances and results.
“The lads are training much harder now and there is a good attitude around the training ground,” said Alan. “People know what is going on at the moment, there isn’t someone coming in here or going there. The dressing room is good after that win but we know that we can’t sit on that. This is only one win and we have to go on a run now: this can’t just be a one-off. We have to go to Wolves now with a bit of confidence. It is good when you have games coming up on a Saturday and a Wednesday. We need to recover well and prepare properly.”
Alan’s brace were his fourth and fifth goals of the season, making him The Bees top scorer this campaign.
The Irish midfielder was pleased to get on the scoresheet but even more pleased that his goals led to a Brentford win.
“It was good to get another goal and it was good that they meant something as well,” said Alan. “A few times when the ball drops to players there they try to smash it but I wanted to make sure that I got it on target. I sidefooted it and luckily I caught it perfectly. After the goal they had the ball and it took us a while to get our confidence. Half way through the first-half we got on top.
“I had a sloppy ball cut out and it was a great goal from their guy. I was just happy to make amends. It was my first header for Brentford but I have scored a few headers in my career. You can sneak in there if they don’t think you can jump high and luckily enough it fell for me.”
Alan spent the international break away with the Republic of Ireland as they concluded their Euro 2016 Qualifying campaign.
Even though he didn’t make it onto the pitch for the Irish Alan said it was a real confidence booster to see be involved with the group.
With the Republic in Euro 2016 Paly-Off action next month Alan wants to continue putting in the good performances and see where that gets him.
“Going away with the Republic of Ireland gave me a lot of confidence,” said Alan. “I went away from the Derby County game a bit embarrassed and disappointed with myself and the team. It was good to go away and have a week with the Irish team and see what the standard is like and see where you want to get to. I have come back and hopefully I have shown that. With the Play-Offs coming up that is a huge incentive for me but the lads that are there are doing very well. All I can do is do what I can on the pitch and hopefully those two goals today will help me.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Alan below