Chris Mepham was delighted to be offered his first professional contract at Brentford but knows that he must work even harder now to continue his rise through the ranks at Griffin Park. The 18-year-old defender was one of two of this season’s Youth Team, alongside midfielder Reece Cole, to be offered deals to join the Development Squad next season after impressing for Flemming Pedersen’s side this campaign. Speaking to Bees Player after the Under-21s 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich Town at Griffin Park Chris was pleased to see his hard work pay off but added that the real hard work begins now.
“I was buzzing to get a contract,” said Chris. “I went into the meeting and didn’t really know what to expect. They said that I had been working really hard and stepped up another gear this season which I felt that I had done. I didn’t know what to say, I was so pleased. All that hard work that has gone into it has paid off. Been a Youth Team player is tough at times but I think being an Under-21s player is a whole lot tougher. With the information that Flemming tells us you have to be really switched on and put your trust in him. What he says is going to help you as a footballer so you have to listen to everything that he says. The hard work starts now so I have to kick on and keep getting better.”
Monday’s match was Chris’ 12th appearance of the season for the Under-21s and with every passing match the tall defender feels he grows in confidence to express himself on the pitch helped in no small part by the encouragement given to him by Head Coach Flemming Pedersen.
“When I first stepped up to Under-21 football I wasn’t fully able to express myself in terms of driving out with the ball and playing through lines,” said Chris. “Flemming has put a lot of confidence in me to drive out and pick passes. Every game I feel that I am doing more and more of that. I am fully comfortable now and able to express myself permanently.”
The Bees took the lead against Ipswich Town in the first-half thanks to a neat finish from Bradly Clayton but were pegged back midway through the second-half when defender Chris Smith was given time to turn and shoot inside the box from a free-kick. Chris admitted that The Bees were off colour against The Tractor Boys but still had enough chances to come out of the game with three points.
“I think it was a fair result because we didn’t hit our levels,” said Chris. “First-half we were not too bad but second-half we went a bit flat and didn’t take the game to them. We didn’t play the way that we would have liked to play. One of the themes of this season is that we allow teams to get back into the game through our mistakes and us not taking our chances. We had a couple of chances which, if we had taken them, would have meant that their goal wouldn’t have mattered. At the same time we have got to defend properly. They got a goal at the back post which was disappointing so we have to go in Wednesday and see where we can improve.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Chris below