Josh McEachran says he will be ready to go come the start of the season as he builds up to Tony Craig’s testimonial on Saturday against Millwall. The midfielder, who twice suffered a broken foot last season, has steadily increased his minutes in recent weeks to come through 75 minutes of Tuesday’s friendly against Peterborough United at Griffin Park. Now, with just one pre-season fixture to go before the new season, Josh feels that he is in good shape ahead of this weekend's visit to The Den.
“I feel good but I still feel like there is more to come,” said Josh speaking to Bees Player. “I definitely feel a lot fitter than pre-season last season and I am looking forward to Huddersfield Town away. We have still got a game against Millwall to get more minutes but I am feeling good at the moment. Myself, Richard Clarke, Neil Greig, and Dean Smith are always in conversation with each other. They are not going to push me too hard but at the same time they are going to get me as fit as I can be and this is the fittest I have felt.”
Tuesday night saw The Bees suffer defeat at the hands of The Posh with Paul Taylor grabbing the only goal of the game in the fourth minute. While Josh admitted that it is never nice to lose any game of football, pre-season or not, he said that the performance the side put in was good enough to win most matches.
“I think Tuesday was the best performance that we have had so far this pre-season,” said Josh. “It could have been five or six one. We had a lot of chances but we just didn’t take any on the night. Nobody likes losing games of football so it does have a little effect on you but at the end of the day it is not in the Championship for three points. You just have to get on with it.”
Ahead of the big kick-off against Huddersfield Town next weekend, The Bees final pre-season engagement of the summer sees them travel to South London to take on League One side Millwall in aid of Tony Craig’s testimonial. The defender spent three successful years in West London before last July's return to The Den for a fourth spell, more than 12 years after his debut for The Lions. While Josh never had the chance to play with Tony he said he has heard a lot about him and is looking forward to a good game at the weekend.
“It is for Tony Craig and, even though I wasn’t here when he was here, I hope it is a great game for him,” said Josh. “I have heard a lot about him. Tony was a great character and I am hoping to get more minutes and prepare myself for Huddersfield. It is close to the season so they will put a strong team out like we will. They start next week as well so it should be a good game.”