Ose Aibangee believes that Brentford’s recent performances at international tournaments is helping to forge a strong reputation for The Bees’ Academy.

After a fifth and eighth placed showing at the Milk Cup in the summer and then another good performance in the recent Anglo-German Tournament, a Brentford Under-11s side reached the Quarter Final of the Mediterranean International Cup last week.

The Bees run was ended by Valencia, who went on to be the losing finalists, in the tournament that attracts Academy sides from all over the world.

Speaking to Bees Player after returning from the tournament Ose said that strong performances in high-profile tournaments will only help to improve Brentford’s reputation in Academy circles.

Not having the brand or name of other high-profile clubs to fall back on means that, for Ose, The Bees need to forge a new reputation with their performances at every tournament they enter.

“It is important that we are competitive because it is quite a new thing for us,” said Ose.

“We have gone to Germany and we are in the Milk Cup every year but this was a new venture for us going out to Spain and being involved in a massive tournament.

“We haven’t got the brand name or the prestige of some of these Premier League clubs who can live off their badge so we know that we not only have to play good football but we need to perform in terms of results.

“Everyone who was there watching saw not only how well the results went but how well the performances went as well.

“These sorts of results do a lot for the Academy because Academies are built on people and there are a lot of people in football who feel that if you are a brand name or have a big Premier League or Champions League badge you are going to be a good Academy.

“That is not always the case from my experience and it is important that people recognise that there are medium sized and smaller clubs that have fantastic academies, us being one of them in my opinion.

“Going out there and proving it on the pitch communicates that message to everybody.

“The better that we do only helps to raise the perception of the club.

“The better that you do helps you to get invited to more of these tournaments.

“It isn’t a case of saying that you want to be in a tournament you actually have to be invited or accepted.

“All the tournaments that we have asked to enter recently we have been accepted for.

“That wasn’t the case in the past.

“It was difficult in year one and year two to be accepted or even to arrange friendlies against certain Premier League teams from up North.

“It was difficult to get those games because we weren’t established and the perception of the Academy needed to be built.

“We have done that now and we are getting there.

“Having performances and results like we had over the Easter weekend will definitely help.”

The Mediterranean International Cup included Manchester City, Liverpool, Valencia CF and RCD Espanyol alongside The Bees.

After drawing 2-2 in their first match against Sant Gabriel, who reached the last eight, The Bees beat EF Sant Feliu 9-2 and then won 24-0 against PSTC Londrina to qualify for the last 16 where they were beaten 4-3 by eventual runners-up Valencia CF.

Ose said that it was a really good experience for both the players and the staff to be involved in such a tournament.

Having taken an Arsenal team to the MIC a few years ago Ose said it was always in his plans to one day take a Brentford team to the tournament and he was pleased to have been able to achieve it.

“It was a really good experience,” said Ose.

“It is one of the better tournaments in Europe and I was fortunate many years ago to take a team out with Arsenal, including Nico Yennaris, and win it.

“It is a tournament that I have really enjoyed because it is well organised, there are some fantastic teams and a lot of top players have played in that tournament.

“It was always part of my thinking that at some stage we would get a team into that tournament and they accepted us this year and the boys thoroughly enjoyed it.

“The boys did really well.

“We were knocked out 4-3 by Valencia who went on to make the final.

“I am really pleased with the boys and with the odd bit of luck, we lost by the odd goal, it could have been us in the final.

“It wasn’t to be but in terms of an opportunity and an experience it was really good not only for the players and for the staff.”

One of the key benefits of tournament football for Ose and the coaching staff is that it introduces players to competitive football and adds a fear of failure to matches that is missing from their regular friendly season.

Ose said learning to play under pressure from an early age is a really key step on their development towards being professional footballers.

“The boys learn a lot from playing under mild pressure,” said Ose.

“There is a consequence from these games where there is not so much consequence when we play these games on a Sunday.

“Those games are important but there is no real fear of failure.

“When you play in tournament football every game and every goal is important and it could be the difference between progressing or not that gives the players that bit of pressure and consequence which I think they need.

“I want our players to be professional footballers and as they go through the ranks being able to play under pressure will be more and more important.

“Getting a diluted version of that is key for their progress and development.

“The earlier we get players playing tournament’s the better.

“When I was at Arsenal I remember taking boys out there as young as nine.

“It is important to get that diluted version of pressure football.

“You need to build them up gradually for that exposure.

“They will learn how to build up to games but more importantly they will how to deal with crowds, deal with pressure and the fear of failure.”