Midfielder Nico Yennaris wants to take the game to Charlton Athletic from the start as the two sides meet at Griffin Park on Saturday in the Sky Bet Championship. The Addicks have slipped to the foot of the table after a run of one win in 18 in all competitions and the former Arsenal youngster wants to capitalise on Athletic’s current poor form by getting at Jose Riga's side from the off.
Speaking to Bees Player ahead of the match Nico said: “It will be another tough game with Charlton fighting for their lives down there. We need to be on the front foot and start the game off like we did against Wolves. If we do that we will be in control of the game and hopefully get the right result. Charlton are similar to how we were at the beginning of the season with a lot of changes on and off the pitch. We have to focus on us and put in the performance right for us. When a team is struggling you look to capitalise on that. I am sure that teams have looked at our transition this season and thought it is a good time to play us. We have to focus on ourselves and take it from there.”
The 22-year-old has made 22 appearances for The Bees this season after managing just 11 outings in his first 18 months in West London. Nico has been understandably happy at his increased gametime and feels he has done what has been required of him when called upon.
“At the beginning of the season I didn’t make many starts but then a few changes were made and I started to play a lot more under Lee Carsley,” said Nico. “I am grateful to him for that and I have been happy with most of my performances. I have done well enough to keep the shirt and I am happy to start a lot more games than I did last season.”
A recent run of one win in six means that The Bees are now 14th in the Championship table, 12 points off the top six. Despite dropping away from the Play-Off pack Nico thinks that on the whole, given the challenges that the squad has had to overcome, it has still been a good season for the team and one which they are looking to end on a high.
“With the amount of changes, injuries and bits of luck not going our way we have done well to get the points on the board that we have,” said Nico. “For any team to make so many changes in style, coaching staff and such it is going to take time and I think that we have done alright this season. Of course we would like to be higher up in the table but taking into consideration the amount of changes that have happened we have done alright. The top six looks tough now so we have to take each game as it comes and get the maximum points we can to see where we end up.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Nico below