Brentford are putting in the hours on the training ground to get things right according to midfielder Alan McCormack.
The Bees are currently 20th in the Sky Bet Championship, having won only one of their last eight league matches, going into this weekend’s International Break.
Speaking to Bees Player ahead of the break Alan said it had been a tough few days of training but that is what it will take to get the side climbing back up the Championship table.
“The mood has been pretty good to be fair,” said Alan. “It has been a tough week, something we knew from last year. This week we have certainly had it thrown back at us and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were extremely hard. We always work at high levels but this week they got even tougher. The lads have been pretty good, enjoyed it and are now looking forward to a few days off. We have always enjoyed training and training has been really good but when you work as hard as we do sometimes the smiles aren’t quite there.
“The position that we are in at the moment is spurring everybody on. To go from where we were last season to where we are this season is not acceptable or good enough from anyone. If they feel it is the fitness side of it then we have to get fitter, if they think it is the technical side we have to get better technically. We are all working really hard Monday to Friday to figure out what is going wrong and to try and put it back into place.”
The Bees brought in a number of new players over the summer and Alan feels that the squad is beginning to really gel and get used to the pace and physicality of the Sky Bet Championship.
“There is still a lot of work to do because half of the team is new,” said Alan. “The style of play that we played last year is a lot different to how we want to play this year. The European lads who have come in were used to that and the English lads weren’t really. We are starting to get used to that now.
“The lads who have come in from Europe are getting their feet down now and you can see that they are working extremely hard in training sessions. Everything is being done quicker now which is what the Championship is like. We can’t change the league but we can only go out and play in that league and play it the best we can.”
Next up for Alan and his teammates is a home game against Rotherham United next Saturday at Griffin Park.
Alan hopes that the hard work being put in on the Training Ground will bear fruit next Saturday and that the players can give the passionate Bees fans the three points they crave.
“We have worked extremely hard on fitness this week and will do another day of it on Monday when we come back,” said Alan. “In the build up to Saturday everything is going to be high tempo for us. We are going to press hard and be physical and not give sides a chance to play. Hopefully come Saturday it will be a different set-up and one that gets us three points.
“We have always had incredible backing at Griffin Park. It is an old-school stadium and you are tight to the pitch. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how many fans you have there it is still always loud. We need their support as much as they need us. We are just hoping that they can give us the backing on Saturday and we can reward them with a much needed three points.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Alan below