Josh Laurent said his month at Newport County gave him a different outlook on football as he looks to force his way into Brentford’s first-team.

The 20-year-old spent September on loan with the Sky Bet League Two’s bottom side as they fight to retain their Football League standing.

Having made his Brentford debut in the 4-0 Capital One Cup defeat at home to Oxford United Josh feels that experience and his time at Newport County have both given him a sharp introduction into what he needs to do to be a professional footballer.

“I learned a lot from when I went down to Newport County and experienced a lot of different things,” said Josh speaking to Bees Player. “It is a harsh and brutal world at the bottom of League Two but you have to be brave and deal with it. I feel that now when I go and train with the first-team there is a different attitude about me and style in my play. I am a bit more aggressive.

“I learned a lot from the night down here against Oxford United. A lot of the boys who played that night have learned as well and gone on to play games. It was hard to take during the 90 minutes and straight afterwards but when you stop feeling sorry for yourself you can look back on the game and see where you need to improve. You learn from it to make sure it never happens again because it is not a good feeling.”

Josh was speaking after he helped Brentford’s Development Squad pick up a third straight win after a 2-1 success against Bristol City at Griffin Park.

After a slow first-half, which saw The Robins take the lead through Shawn McCoulsky, The Bees hit back thanks to goals from Sam Saunders and Lewis Macleod in the second-half.

On the balance of the 90 minutes Josh felt it was a deserved three points for his side even if, as he admitted, they were second best for the opening 45 minutes.

“We ended the game really well after a sloppy start,” said Josh. “Tonight we started well and then they got in behind us once and we went a bit. Overall I think we were worth the win. In the second-half we were much better than them and they couldn't get near us. Our tempo was better in the second-half and I think we lacked a lot of confidence in the first-half. When we got that confidence that gave us tempo and expression and we trusted each other much more.”

The former Queens Park Rangers player has started at the heart of The Bees defence in the last couple of matches, a position that he feels his is slowly getting used to.

Josh feels that his ease on the ball which comes from spending most of his career to date in the midfield is something that can really benefit the team when he plays in a deeper role.

“There were a couple of times in the first-half where I tried to drive out from the back and even though it didn’t come off I was still confident,” said Josh. “If you have got a centre-half who is confident on the ball then that is always helpful. Their striker wasn’t too bad, he stayed in between me and Chris Mepham and he made his run quite late. The more that he did it the more that you learnt about it and learnt how to deal with it.”

Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Josh below