Josh Clarke put pen to paper on a new contract with Brentford FC this morning before telling Bees Player how happy he was to extend his stay for a further two years. The 22-year-old defender, who was out of contract tomorrow, said: “I am buzzing to get the contract that I wanted. At the end of the season I was trying to get the games out of the way first so I am delighted to have signed a new contract here. I have had time to improve myself and improve potential aspects of my game as a defender. I feel that I am an attacking right back but I can defend and I can attack. Not many full-backs can do that so I feel that I have a good chance. I have worked hard for this. I have put in work inside football, and outside football, which was the main thing.”

Josh joined Brentford in 2011, having been effectively discovered playing park football, and made his first-team debut in August 2013. The right-back found chances at Griffin Park hard to come by over the next 18 months, and endured some unsuccessful loan spells, before breaking through last season. Josh made 12 appearances for The Bees, and a further ten in the amber and black of Barnet, as he said he began to convince himself of his potential.

“Barnet was the best loan move for me,” said Josh. “I made ten appearances there and it was a stepping stone for me. I was happy that Barnet took me on loan and proved to me that I can play in the League Two. I had loan spells previously where I didn’t play but I was happy that Barnet gave me the chances to play week in week out. I had to prove that I could play at League Two level. That made me open my eyes a bit more and see that I was better than that league. I wanted to play games at Championship level and prove that I can play games at this level.”