Flemming Pedersen was left frustrated after Brentford B lost 4-1 to The Nike Academy at St George's Park last week. After leading by a goal to nil at the break thanks to Bradley Clayton, a poor second half display ended in the home side running out clear winners on a damp day in Burton-upon-Trent.
"I'm very disappointed of course," said Flemming, speaking to Bees Player after the match. "One-nil up after the first half, then we died slowly during the second half and conceded four goals. It was way below our normal level, it was like giving presents to our opponents."
The Bees started the game in full control, scoring early then passing and moving the ball around their opponents. Despite this bright start, Flemming didn't pile much praise on the team afterwards because of the high standards expected of them.
"I was not impressed, I was very satisfied with our high pressing," said Flemming. "They had some skillful players but they couldn't find their rhythm because we were all over the pitch. In our positional play, we were very undisciplined during the first half. Sometimes we played anarchistic with a couple of players totally out of position, maybe because it looked easy and they wanted to be closer to the ball because they were bored. I was speaking about our mentality to the boys after the game and overall we were too sloppy, especially in the second half."
With a lot of focus placed on development at this level, the Danish coach spoke about the need to move on quickly and get ready to play Manchester United.
"We have to really bounce back and get together as a team," he said. "Our challenge today was that our opponents played extremley individually, without much structure, and that also infected us. If you play against a good team with a good structure then it's easier to play with a good structure yourself. Today we matched our opponents that way and suddenly we played a game that we are not used to playing, during the second half we were not able to change that."
Earlier this month, the Club announced that Flemming would be leaving in January, with Kevin O'Connor set to take his place as Head Coach. Flemming added his thoughts on the next step for him and the squad.
"It has been a little strange and an emotional week," he said. "We could also feel it in the team during a couple of the training sessions, especially on the day we made it official.
"I have to be professional, I still have a job to do here but obviously some part of my mind is with my future job too. When I get home from Jersey Road I can feel that I am not only thinking of Brentford and the B Team anymore. For me I have to try and control this and continue doing my best here."