Nathan Collins delivered a captain’s performance to mark his 100th Brentford appearance and start the New Year with a clean sheet.

The centre-half was in commanding form throughout the Bees’ 0-0 draw against Tottenham at the Gtech, finishing the contest as Playmaker’s Man of the Match with a rating of 7.8.

After impressive wins over Wolves and Bournemouth over the Christmas period, the hosts had to settle for a point on Spurs manager Thomas Frank’s return to the Gtech - though both Collins and head coach Keith Andrews felt the Bees shaded the encounter.

With Sepp van den Berg missing through injury, Collins lined up alongside Kristoffer Ajer at the heart of Brentford’s backline and produced another authoritative display as the Bees recorded the fourth shutout of their 2025/26 Premier League campaign.

The pair expertly marshalled a Tottenham attack that began with Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus, and ended with PSG loanee Randal Kolo Muani and former Bayern Munich winger Mathys Tel on the pitch.

As head coach Andrews pointed out, Brentford have raised the bar to such an extent during five seasons in the top flight that even a stalemate against Champions League opposition can leave them “disappointed” - a standard embodied by Collins’ leadership at the back.

Collins shared his head coach’s post-match sentiments but was keen to focus on the positives of a tenacious and professional display - and his own performance numbered among them.

Ranked joint-15th in the Premier League for successful headed duels this term, Collins (six aerial duels won) dominated in the air against Tottenham while also dictating play on the deck.

The Bees forced the visitors and their former manager onto the back foot for much of the game, as evidenced by their 55 per cent possession share. Collins set the tempo in this respect, completing more accurate passes (72) than any player on either side - and he sprayed five accurate long balls to help the Bees mix up their tactics.

Last season, only Nottingham Forest’s Murillo made more clearances than Collins in the Premier League, and the Irishman celebrated his 100-game milestone with five more against Spurs to leave him sixth in the top flight for that particular statistic this season.

That kind of consistency, coupled with his leadership qualities, ensures Collins is one of the first names on the team sheet, and his uncanny knack of sniffing out danger was again evident.

Third in the Premier League for shots blocked this season with 26, Collins was in the right place at the right time in the first half of the London derby to deny Archie Gray with a goal-bound effort.

A clear and present danger from attacking set-pieces, Collins almost capped off a strong all-round display with a goal contribution. Kevin Schade’s close-range finish - ruled out by a marginal offside call - was arguably the closest Brentford came to snaffling all three points, and it was Collins’ instinctive header from Vitaly Janelt’s corner that fashioned that opening.

Six points shy of the Champions League places, Brentford and their captain start 2026 in a very encouraging position.