Joe Maloney said it was great to get through 90 minutes on his return from injury in a friendly on Friday night and he has now set his sights on earning back his place in the Development Squad league XI.
Friday’s 4-1 defeat to Ashford Town (Middlesex) was Joe’s first appearance in three months after a persistent ankle problem.
It was also the first opportunity that new Development Squad manager Lee Carsley has had to see Joe in action and the 19-year-old is keen to make a good impression in the coming weeks.
Speaking to Bees Player after the game Joe said: “I am tired after the game.
“I have been out for about three months now with an ankle problem.
“It is good to be back on the pitch.
“I didn’t expect to get 90 minutes under my belt today but it is good to get those minutes under my belt.
“It wasn’t the best pitch to come back on for my first game in a few months.
“However it is going to get me fitter and I got through it so I don’t mind.
“We have a new manager in Lee Carsley so it was good to come in and try and impress him.
“My aim over the next few weeks is to get my fitness and then really start trying to prove my ability.
“It was a friendly today and I got 90 minutes but my real aim is to start in a league game and get 90 minutes.
“Both Jon De Souza and Lee Carsley are quality coaches but they are not the same.
“When a new manager comes in the intensity of the group naturally goes up; I don’t think that is just us trying to work harder.
“When a new guy comes in it is instinct to try and work a little bit more.
“The intensity has gone up and we have started to come together as a team a little bit more.”
Joe returned to action on Friday as the Development Squad took on Ashford Town (Middlesex) at the Robert Parker Stadium in a friendly.
With Town having no league game over the weekend they fielded a strong side and took the lead thanks to Samad Kazi’s deflected effort nine minutes before the break.
Having fallen behind The Bees were hit twice more before half-time through Dan Fletcher and Jack Mullen to all-but wrap up the win for the hosts.
Montell Moore’s goal early in the second-half threatened a comeback but that was snuffed out by Kazi’s header with ten minutes to play.
Joe said that a lot of credit had to be given for the way that Ashford Town had played and dealt the better with the heavy pitch.
For Joe, who spent time on loan at Burnham last season, these friendlies against non-league sides are a good learning experience in getting younger players ready for the rigours of first-team football.
“We have got to give Ashford Town credit,” said Joe.
“We can’t just come away from here saying we were bad and we were poor.
“They have scored four goals against us and you have to give them credit.
“We weren’t at it today and we know that.
“We could have done a lot better.
“Both teams had to play on the same pitch, it doesn’t matter about the style of football they just handled it better than we did.
“I think the young lads out there did well.
“Tom Roberts in goal, Chris Mepham, who came on in the second-half and Makhosini Khanye did well and I don’t think they were any worse than the older boys.
“These games are more of a First Team experience.
“It is all well and good going to Swansea away where it is a perfect pitch and both teams are rolling the ball about and tackles aren’t flying in.
“Games like this they are going to be up for it, in your face and they are going to press you.
“They are going to turn balls in behind you and you have to be able to deal with that.
“It is the ugly side of the game and you have to show it.
“Tonight we didn’t show that side of our game.”
In the time that Joe has been off injured he has been helping out coaching within Brentford’s Category Two Academy as well as coaching at his local club, Hanwell Town.
Joe said he has really enjoyed the experience as well as seeing football from a coaches rather than a players’ perspective.
The right-back feels that his game has improved through his coaching and it has helped him understand more about the game.
“I work with Hanwell Town who are my local club and I do the Under-15s there,” said Joe.
“When I mentioned that to Brentford they offered to let me go down to the Academy a couple of times a week and help out at the weekends.
“I am not really doing any certain age-groups I am just learning from Lee down to the Under Sevens so it has been a really good experience.
“Doing this is 100 per cent helping me on the pitch.
“You start to see the game in a different light.
“You start to understand the game from a coach’s point of view whereas before you are a player.
“When you coach you can understand what they are trying to say to you and why they are doing certain things.
“I definitely feel it’s improved my football especially in the knowledge of the game.”
In the time that Joe has been at The Bees Academy the Club has progressed from mid-table League One club to a club that is currently sitting third in the Sky Bet Championship.
With that First Team progress the Academy has likewise had to progress to keep pace to ensure they can produce players who can compete in English football’s second-tier.
Joe said he sees no hint that the Club’s progress is going to stagnate and feels that the Academy players need to view the progression as a challenge and a positive.
“From when Ose came in four-and-a-half years ago every year there has just been a step up,” said Joe.
“I can’t see it ever stopping and stagnating.
“It is progressing along with the first-team.
“The First Team are moving up and so are we.
“From that Academy point of view we have to keep that gap not too big because if they go flying up and we don’t match that we are struggling.
“You have got to take the progression in a positive light.
“You can take it in a negative light and think that the first-team are doing well we are never going to get in there but you have to think that the first-team are flying and we have to match their intensity and their quality and force our way in.
“We know it is hard but we just have to keep cracking at it.”