Harlee Dean’s belief that he can help Brentford secure Premier League football was one of the main reasons behind agreeing a new deal with the club to take him through to the summer of 2018. The 24-year-old defender joined The Bees in 2011 and has been a key part of the team that has gone from mid-table in League One to pushing for promotion to the Premier League. Speaking after signing his new deal Harlee said he doesn't think the club will stop until it gets Premier League football and he wants to be part of that.
“I am very happy to sign my deal,” said Harlee. “I have said from the start that I always wanted to be here. They have been long negotiations but we got there in the end and I am looking forward to another two years at the club. This is a club going places. I know that we are having a tough time at the moment but that was always going to happen with the transition. Next year I think we will be back to where we want to be, pushing for the Premier League, and that is where I want to be playing. Matthew Benham wants to get to the Premier League and he won’t stop until he gets there and I want to be part of that. I have been here since we were happy to be 12th in League One and now we are not happy to be 12th in the Championship. There is obvious progress and I want to go one step further.”
The Bees are currently on a run of one win in eight matches in all competitions and Harlee believes the recent results mean that making the Play-Offs this season may just be too much of an ask. However the former Southampton defender thinks there is still a lot to play for this season to go into the summer full of confidence ahead of the new campaign.
“I have a really good relationship with Dean Smith and Richard O’Kelly,” said Harlee. “We are having a tough time of it at the moment but we will work hard on the training pitch to get things right. This season we need to get some consistency, some wins and some clean sheets. The top six might be too far now, if we are realistic, but we have 15 matches left and we need to get as many points as possible. We have Queens Park Rangers and Fulham which are games we want to win. We can reset and come back stronger after the summer and have a better season.”
Harlee is approaching 200 appearances for The Bees and has missed just four matches in the Sky Bet Championship this season. The Essex-born defender was named as Vice-Captain at the start of this season is enjoying his more senior role within the squad but feels that he still has plenty to learn both on and off the pitch.
“Dean Smith has been great with me since he came in,” said Harlee. “He has given me authority around the place. He knows that I am a leader and that has helped me grow. We have had a lot of new lads come so it is easy for me to show them the way and how things are done around here. That is something that I enjoy doing. I have a lot of development still to come. I still make mistakes and do things that maybe I shouldn’t do. Around the training ground I can improve as well at certain things. You can get better every day and that is the philosophy here. They want you to be the best that you can be and I embrace that.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Harlee below