Flemming Pedersen felt his side stopped playing once they went ahead as Charlton Athletic came from behind to progress to the Quarter Finals of the U21 Premier League Cup at The Valley this afternoon.
After dominating the first-half The Bees took a deserved lead on the hour as Jan Holldack converted from the spot after he had been tripped by Charlton goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov. However that advantage only lasted for nine minutes as Mikhail Kennedy calmly rolled home before Cristian Ceballos completed the turnaround with a long-range effort that squeezed into the bottom corner.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Flemming said he was pleased with his side’s first-half performance but felt that lacked the clinical edge to put the tie to bed.
“It was disappointing today because this was a game that we could have won,” said Flemming. “Unfortunately in the second-half, even though we scored, we didn’t play with the same quality as we did in the first-half. In the first-half there was good intensity in our pressing and the players were still fresh. In the second-half there was a little bit of tiredness but after we went ahead we started to think too much about the result rather than just keeping playing. Sometimes we took a little bit too long on the ball as if we were thinking about the time. In the Development Squad and in the Academy you can never think like this. When you are 1-0 up you should always be thinking about making it 2-0.”
The Danish coach took over in charge of the Development Squad at the start of the week and he feels he has lots to offer The Bees’ Under-21s.
“I feel I have much to offer tactically and how we position ourselves in and out of possession,” said Flemming. “I want to give the players ideas that they can use in their development and I want to play with more intensity in the games. If you want to develop players then the players need to break their limits and get out of their comfort zone. Sometimes we will make mistakes because we will try to play faster than we can but it is necessary to do that to improve.
“The level is good and we have some good players. There is a good environment and staff around them. Lee Carsley and Kevin O’Connor have done a fantastic job so it is very easy for me to get into that group. I have got to know the players over the last six months and I have a very good feeling.”
Flemming joined Brentford in the summer as the Head of Football Philosophy with the remit of setting out Brentford’s football philosophy and structuring individual development plans for players. The experienced coach feels there will be no problems combining his two roles and is aiming to get one or two players in the first-team squad in the near future.
“There will be no problem combining my roles as Head of Football Philosophy and Development Squad Coach because we will use the same style of play in both the first-team and Development Squad,” said Flemming. “I will still be in the same office as the first-team coaches so we are closely linked together. My aim is that every season we get one or two players to go into the first-team from the Under-21s. As a coach I have never experienced anything else that that. I strongly believe that one or two, maybe three in a good year, can go directly into the first-team squad from the Under-21s.”
Bees Player subscribers can listen to the full interview here