Jota said he was looking forward to his first experience of a Sky Bet Championship London derby tomorrow and expected an intense occasion.
The Spaniard spoke to Bees Player for the first time ahead of Brentford’s trip to Millwall tomorrow and said he had been made aware of what a London derby, especially one at The Den, would be like.
Brentford signed the attacking midfield player, whose full name is José Peleteiro Ramallo, from Real Club Celta de Vigo for an undisclosed fee in mid-August.
He has played 14 times for The Bees since he arrived, scoring in home wins against Leeds United and Reading, and is learning English.
With fellow Spaniard Jon Toral translating, Jota spoke to Bees Player about the trip to Millwall.
“I know all about the atmosphere in the stadium,” said Jota.
“We have just been talking about it.
“They will be a physical, aggressive team.
“I am looking forward to the game.
“I have not played a London derby yet.
“I expect it to be like derbies in Spain, very intense games with lots of tension.”
Jota signed a three-year contract after agreeing the switch from Celta, who play in La Liga, the Spanish top flight.
He had been with Celta since he was 13 and made his first appearances for the Celta de Vigo B, the reserve side that has, for the past few years, played in the third and fourth tier of Spanish football.
He played four times for Celta and had loan spells at Real Madrid B and Sociedad Deportivo Eibar, where he spent the 2013/14 season, scoring 11 goals in 35 games in the second tier and helping them to reach La Liga for the first time in their history.
“I was happy to have the chance to come and play in England,” said Jota.
“It is something I always wanted to do.
“Brentford are a very good club and a very serious club and I liked that.
“That is what attracted me to Brentford.”
Jota said everyone at Brentford was supporting him as he learned English and adapted to a new style of football.
He said having fellow Spaniards Toral and Marcos Tébar at Griffin Park was helping and he was learning the language with Portuguese striker Betinho, who also speaks Spanish.
Jota said he was enjoying the English football experience.
“It is different to Spanish football, it is more physical and more intense,” he said.
“I am adapting well.
“I am enjoying it a lot.
“Everyone is treating me excellently.
“I am enjoying the experience.
“The language is the most difficult thing at the moment but everyone understands that I need time to learn English.
“I am lucky to have three players that speak Spanish but everyone is helping.
“I will learn English, it is not easy and will take time but Betinho is doing the lessons as well.
“It is not easy to learn a language on your own, someone else learning as well helps.”
Jota said he felt he was getting better with every match but there was more to come.
“My first goal for the Club was the best moment so far,” he said.
“With every game I am adapting better to the game and the league.
“More game time will help me get used to it.
“I can adapt better and give more.
“I don’t know when I will be producing my best but hopefully we will see that soon.”
Brentford are ninth in the Sky Bet Championship before the trip to Millwall.
They have recorded successive wins over Derby County and Nottingham Forest having not won in three before that, losing away at Bolton Wanderers after draws with Wigan Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday.
“The mood in the team is very good,” said Jota.
“We deserved more than the two draws and then the loss at Bolton and didn’t get it.
“I think we deserved those two victories.
“The team is looking forward to keeping going and getting as high in the table as we can.
“We want to get as high in the table as we can.
“We will fight for that to the end of the season.”
A full interview with Jota can be seen here by Bees Player subscribers.