David Raya is under the spotlight in issue 15 of your Match Programme, which is now available to purchase online.
David on his injury lay-off:
“I returned to my car and burst into tears. It was my first long-term injury. I always knew I’d eventually get an injury that would keep me out for a long time, but it was tough. It’s the small things; it took a long time to walk up the stairs! The sooner you accept the situation, the easier it is to get it done with. My whole life changed and I felt lonely because there were days when I didn’t see my team-mates; when they were coming in from training I’d often be doing something else.”
Returning to training in that t-rex costume:
“I had it in my car for a couple of months! Me and my brother were going to do a little prank on our girlfriends when we picked them up from the airport, but we didn’t end up doing it so the costume was still in the car. The day I knew I was going to be back on the pitch, the idea just came into my head. I opened my boot to put something in there and saw the costume. I thought it would be a funny moment for everybody if I came out for training as a t-rex!”
And making mistakes:
“With football, and everything in life, you can do 100 things right but you’ll always be punished for the one thing you do wrong. I make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. To be honest, I don’t care. I try to play the way that we play. For the Fulham goal [in the 2020 Play-Off Final], I was in that exact position for every free-kick that season. I claimed so many crosses from there, but of course it was the Play-Off Final so it was always going to be across the media.”
Also included in Saturday’s issue:
Order online
Priced at £4, our sellers around the stadium are now accepting contactless payments. Programmes are also available from The Bees Merchandise Kiosk on Lionel Road South and from the Bees Superstore.
Missed a game at Brentford Community Stadium this season? Fill the gaps in your programme collection here.