Head Coach Lee Carsley is expecting a tough match against bottom of the table Bolton Wanderers tonight and has warned his players that they must stand up to The Trotter’s physical test if they want to record back-to-back Sky Bet Championship wins.
The Bees head north to The Macron Stadium knowing that a win will propel them to the fringe of the Play-Off places after a run of five victories in their last seven matches. Standing in their way is a Bolton side that has tasted victory only once all season and sit four points adrift at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.
Speaking to Bees Player ahead of the match Lee expects a tough, physical battle and said that his side must win that battle before they impose their technical style on the game.
“Preparations have gone very well ahead of Monday’s game at Bolton Wanderers,” said Lee. “We have been able to have a good look at Bolton and what they are doing and develop a game plan around their strengths and weaknesses. I am expecting a tough game because it is a tough place to play. They are a team with a lot of quality throughout it, they are very physical so it is important that we match them in that side of the game. We have some technically very good players but it is important that they stand up to the challenge they are going to be up against.”
Brentford picked up three points last Saturday as an injury-time Philipp Hofmann goal gave their ten men a win at home to Nottingham Forest.
Lee said the nature of the win meant it was a positive training ground this week as they looked to learn from and improve on aspects of last Saturday’s performance.
“The boys were upbeat and positive coming into training this week,” said Lee. “That gave us a good chance to have a look at the match and address some of the issues that came from it. It was important that we had a good debrief from the game and had input from the players especially what they thought of the first-half. It is difficult to judge us with ten men even though we coped with the game well. It is a different game when you have ten men and I thought that we adjusted to that.”
Brentford played the last 20 minutes of the match with ten men after Harlee Dean saw red after a clash with Jonathan Williams. The defender will be missing for Monday’s trip to Lancashire as the club decided not to appeal his red card.
Lee admitted that Harlee will be a loss but added that it gave a chance to Jack O’Connell and others to stake a claim for regular playing time.
“There wasn’t really a thought about appealing,” said Lee. “Some of these appeals can sometimes backfire on you and you can end up getting an extra game. Looking at some of the other sendings off from that weekend any time that you raise your hands you are going to put yourself in that position.
“We are just going to have to take it on the chin with Harlee. He will be a big miss for us but it gives Jack O’Connell a chance to come in now and show us what he can do. It will be a close call between Yoann Barbet and Jack. They are both different types of players but Jack is probably a little bit more adjusted to the British game and the physical side of it.”
Lee confirmed that Monday’s fixture will come too early for the returning trio of Jota, Josh McEachran and Maxime Colin but expects all of them to be in contention sooner rather than later.
“It is important that they are given time to get their fitness back,” said Lee. “They will all play a part in the Development Squad game on Monday and then it will be down to us to have a look at how they perform physically. We have set a target per game now in terms of what we think every position should be running so it is important that those players coming back to fitness can match that physical load that the players in the team are doing at the minute. With the quality that they have got it is important that we give them that chance to get their fitness back in their own time and then show us what they can do. Their quality is undoubted, we all know what they are capable of, but it is about giving them that time to come back in their own time.”
The Bees will be back by around 300 fans at Bolton on Monday night and Lee said that level of support on a weeknight so close to Christmas is massively appreciated by the players and staff.
“The support is much appreciated especially on a weekday,” said Lee. “It is difficult enough for people to get around the country let alone with Christmas approaching. We understand the financial side of it so it is much appreciated. We will make sure that we go over to them at the end of the game and show them our appreciation.”
Bees Player subscribers can listen to the full interview with Lee below