In 2013/14, Brentford finished runners-up in League One. It was the Bees’ first promotion to the second tier in more than 20 years and marked the beginning of the club’s eventual rise to the Premier League.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Brentford’s 2013/14 promotion-winning campaign, we’re speaking with the key members of the squad and staff to discover the secrets of a successful season.

Next up is former Bees loanee George Saville, who featured 40 times for the club during that promotion-winning campaign.

Saville discusses how a stunning strike against Colchester United gave him the much-needed confidence to star in Uwe Rösler's midfield.

As a Chelsea youth player, George Saville eventually realised that, to succeed, like so many others before him, his route into the Football League would involve moving away from Stamford Bridge.

He had been with the Blues since the age of 11 in 2004 and signed his first professional contract six years later but, as the second half of the 2012/13 season approached, he had not yet made a single first-team appearance; not even so much as a cameo in cup competition.

“I had a good year or two with the Chelsea first team, which was great and an amazing experience, but there were a lot of players and a lot of good players,” the 30-year-old explains.

“At the time, I was battling with people like Nathan Aké who, under Rafa Benítez, was favoured over me. Roberto Di Matteo liked me, so I had the chance to go to the Club World Cup in Japan, but it got to a point where I needed to go on loan.

“My first loan was at Millwall for three months and then, in the summer, I spoke to my agent about doing a season-long loan to get regular first-team football - Brentford and Leyton Orient were the clubs interested in me.”

So why did he choose to make the short trip down the A4 to Griffin Park?

“Brentford spoke about playing a 4-3-3, playing good football and, because I was coming through the academy and the way Chelsea play, it just suited me better in terms of how I wanted to play. It was good location-wise as well because I’m Cobham way.

“Harlee Dean was a really good friend of my brother Jack as they grew up playing for Southampton together and he used to come to our house every Sunday because my dad lived in Fleet, so I got to know him, too, which was helpful.”

Saville - now in his fourth spell at Millwall, for whom he has made over 160 appearances - speaks affectionately of his time at Brentford. There’s a noticeable cheer in his voice as he recalls memories and situations throughout the conversation. What had been planned as a 15-minute interview soon closes in on an hour.

He was a young, impressionable 20-year-old with a point to prove that season and he highlights two strong characters in particular who left a lasting impact. It will not come as much of a surprise to know those were Uwe Rösler and Jonathan Douglas.

“Looking back now, Uwe was perfect for me because he was a very good coach and everything I needed, but he was strict as well,” he continues. “He was firm and there was discipline, but we had a good relationship and he really helped me.

“He used to make us wear shinpads in training but, during the winter, I wore tracksuit bottoms - and he knew what I was doing. As we went onto the pitch, we always shook his hand and said ‘Morning’ but, this particular time, he kicked me in the shin and said, “Go and get your f***ing shinpads! What do you think this is?!” I knew he didn’t miss a trick and that stood us in good stead.

“The changing room, even to this day, is one of the best I’ve had in football. It was that good. When you’re winning, it makes things a lot better and it’s easier to say, but the lads - the proper men - were such good lads.

“Dougie was brilliant with me. He was scary in a good way, which kept you in line and, when it was time to praise you, he would praise you. He expected high standards every time he trained or played.

“The day we went up at Griffin Park, we went 1-0 up and other stuff was going on elsewhere but, at that minute, we were going up. I could hear and feel the whole stadium and half stopped to look around and had goosebumps. He clocked me and told me to ‘f***ing get on with it’ because it wasn’t over yet. In the midfield, he was like a father figure for me.”

The conversation turns to how important the mental side of the game is and the value of confidence in breeding a successful environment.

Though he slotted straight into the Bees midfield and remained there for all bar six League One games, Saville admits there were times when he doubted his own ability, particularly when the form in the opening couple of months was patchy.

“I had a good pre-season, but the friendlies were very much like academy games where you have the ball, we have the ball; it’s tidy, it’s neat, it’s easy. We played a few games and I thought to myself, ‘F**k, this is really hard’.

“It was really physical, the ball wasn’t always on the floor, and it was hard to get into games sometimes, so I lost my confidence a little bit. I just wondered what I was doing. We were in a bad place and then we lost to Stevenage and we were in the changing room for ages afterwards!

“In the week that followed, I think there was a feeling that the manager could lose his job. The next game we played Colchester and won 3-1. I scored my first goal that day - against Sam Walker, who I’d grown up with at Chelsea - and that turned the game in our favour. It lifted the mood, my self-doubt just went out the window and, as a team, we just didn’t look back after that.

“Confidence in football is massive. Even now in the Championship, I’d say 16-18 clubs are all very similar, with similar players - but if you’ve got confidence, you’re not afraid of anyone. You go out there, you play and don’t think anything. As soon as you start losing a few, you start thinking about your first touch and things like that.

“Winning is the most important thing for confidence, for me, because you just don’t think. Long-term, though, you need a good style of play and to be a good team as well.”

Saville featured in each of the last eight games of the season, starting four and coming off the bench in the other four. By this point, he more than looked the part following countless superb performances in the middle of the park, which made him look accomplished beyond his years.

He won the penalty that Alan Judge scored to send Brentford up to the Championship, too: “I don’t want to take any credit - I anticipated the contact, fell over and the ref gave it! Judgey showed balls to score that; I just did my bit in the build-up.”

Memories of that day are bittersweet for him now.

“In an arrogant way, I knew we were going to go up. In my mind, it had got to a point where I just knew, it was just a matter of when,” he recalls.

“For it to be at Griffin Park, with the way it went and the feeling I had, it was unbelievable. I remember being on a fan’s shoulders and the pitch being invaded. I was young and maybe I took it for granted a little bit as it was my first real involvement in first-team football.

“That’s my one and only promotion, so you don’t get those moments often. In a sad way, I might never get that feeling again. I often think back now, not just about that day, but being at the club as I just have such fond memories of my time there.”

After promotion was confirmed, Saville was asked by Tim Street of GetWestLondon whether he was open to a return to TW8 for the 2014/15 campaign.

“I’d be more than happy to come back, especially as Brentford are now a Championship club, but that would be for the clubs to decide,” he said.

“I’m not sure what my future is at Chelsea. I have personal ambitions and goals, but Brentford are a great passing side who suit my game, and I would happily play here again.”

A move never materialised, though, and he instead joined Wolves for a reported fee of £1 million in late August 2014.

Reminiscing, Saville explains why he chose to further his career at Molineux.

“I had to go on a permanent because my time at Chelsea was coming to an end and, after a season at Brentford, I didn’t want to go back and play reserve football. I needed to stay in the league and do what I had been doing at a higher level.

“There was interest from Brentford and they had told Chelsea they wanted me but, in terms of the conversations that were being had, I think Wolves were more interested. I had a choice to make and they made it easier.

“Wolves were a massive club, but I was young - maybe too young - for them in terms of the expectation. The style of play wasn’t like Brentford’s either. There’s no regret that I signed for them because it was brilliant and part of my journey, but playing for Brentford in the Championship would have been brilliant.”

He also goes on to clarify there has never been any bad blood between himself and the club, despite shushing the travelling support when he scored a first-minute winner against the Bees at The Den in March 2018.

“Sometimes you get a bit of bad energy between a player and a club, but there’s never been anything like that with Brentford. I’ve not got a single bad word to say about them. It’s a fantastic football club.

“With my character, I like it when the fans give you pelters and you give a little bit back. Every time I came back to Griffin Park, I got a bit of stick, which was brilliant and all part and parcel of football, but it was very tough to play there as an away player - I resented it.

“As a home player, I absolutely loved it. When I found my bearings, it was tight but we played one and two-touch football, which was good to watch and it felt like home. I felt I belonged there.

“On the final day, the fans were singing my name and that they wanted me to stay. I was really grateful for how much the fans warmed to me and loved me when I was there. That goes a long way and helps you perform and I think returned the favour.

“I have such fond memories and it’s just amazing it was 10 years ago.”