Jermaine Udumaga believes he has returned a much better player after joining up with the First-Team on their Pre-Season Training Camp in Portugal.

The midfielder, who was the Development Squad’s top scorer last season with 12 goals in 20 starts, was part of The Bees squad which spent 10 days in Portugal earlier this month.

Jermaine said that he learned a lot, both on and off the pitch, from spending time with seasoned professionals and it has helped him see ways to improve his game to reach the next level.

“It was a very good experience and I loved it,” said Jermaine. “The training was good and high intensity. I learned a lot from the older pros and the younger ones as well. I learned a lot on the pitch and off the pitch. You can see how professional they are and the little details that you wouldn’t get just around the Under-21s. You pick up those little details and you want to be like them.

“I feel that I can see things quicker now coming back with the Under-21s and I am more confident now playing with the Under-21s. I won’t feel like a first-team player until I get a few appearances under my belt. I just want to get in with the first-team now and be a regular.”

Jermaine was speaking to Bees Player after featuring in the Development Squad’s 3-2 defeat to Staines Town in their latest pre-season friendly ahead of the new season.

The midfielder grabbed his second goal of pre-season to draw Lee Carsley’s side level at 1-1 just before the break and said it was good to be back on the goalscoring trail so early in the season.

“I just want to carry on the scoring from last season,” said Jermaine. “I go into every game now looking to score and I am upset with myself if I don’t score. Lee has said that he wants midfielders who can score and I have put a lot of pressure on myself to score every game. I go into every game wanting to score and I am hungry to score goals.”

Despite the defeat on Tuesday night Jermaine saw plenty of reasons to be positive especially given the number of chances that The Bees created.

“I thought we played well in spells,” said Jermaine. “We created a lot of chances in the final third and we played through them well. Their keeper did well to be fair and I had a shot cleared off the line. Courtney Senior had a few good chances but it just wasn’t to be. Defensively we needed to be a bit more secure and make sure that when we are attacking we are defensively strong.

“Overall it was a decent run out. In pre-season you just want to get fit. Of course you want to win all the time but getting fit and making sure that the team gels well are the most important things to get ready for the season. The way that we are playing so soon into pre-season is very positive.”

Bees Player subscribers can listen to the full interview with Jermaine below