Brentford Development Squad Manager Lee Carsley said the first half performance in his team’s win against Birmingham City last night was as good as he had seen from his players.
The Bees were 3-0 up at the break as Jan Holldack scored two early on and Daniel O’Shaughnessy headed a third from a Sam Saunders corner. Brentford had complete control in the first half but Lee, speaking to Bees Player after the match, admitted they did not have the same tempo after the break. They conceded a penalty, scored by Viv Solomon-Otabor, but still did enough to start their Under-21 Professional Development League Two season with a 3-1 win at St Andrew’s.
Lee said he felt the performance was coming as they had a good pre-season, ending with a fine performance in a friendly at Southampton last week, and told Bees Player he was pleased to see work in training translating to the pitch.
He said: “We were really, really good in the first half. That was as good as we have played.
“We came in tonight off the back of a decent performance against Southampton last week in our last pre-season match. Southampton were really good, we played well and I had a feeling we would do well.
“The most pleasing thing was that stuff we had been doing in training is starting to bed in, the lads are starting to get to grips with it. We have the confidence to press high and win the ball high up.
“It was a massive confidence boost to go in at half-time 3-0 up. The game went a bit flat in the second half. I told the players I wanted them to go for it in the second half. We have been on the end of games like that and you know what the confidence is like.
“I wanted them to score more in the second half but we didn’t create a tempo with our passing. We didn’t play with the energy we did in the first half and the game went flat. It is difficult to maintain intensity when you are 3-0 up, it’s a psychological thing that the game is won.
“They got a penalty but that was their only chance. Neither goalkeeper had much to do.”
Sam Saunders played an hour as part of his recovery from a serious calf injury. Lee said Sam sets a great example and helps the younger players around him.
He said: “Sam Saunders made a difference. He gave them team real quality. He plays with enthusiasm and that rubs off on the rest of them. He sets an example.
“Some First Team players don’t want to play. They have either been dropped or are injured. Sam gets on with it and is enthusiastic.
“He is the same in training every day. He trained with us yesterday for a bit having done an hour with the First Team. It makes it easier and is a great example. We have a lot of players like that.”
Lee was without four players – Jermaine Udumaga, Courtney Senior, Josh Clarke and Josh Laurent – as they are in the First Team squad for tonight’s Capital One Cup tie against Oxford United.
He said the group had a good pre-season, with a training camp in Scotland, and were pushing hard for places in the Under-21 team. The Bees play every week until the end of September and Lee said that would help them.
He said: “We have stability within the group. We have 16 players and it is hard to pick a strongest team because they are all very similar. We have four lads with the First Team squad for tomorrow and potentially have a really strong Under-21 team.
“We had a proper training camp in the summer, took the lads away and spent time together. We could bed down the basics on and off the ball.
“Managing the lads up and down is a difficult thing. I want the players to go seamlessly between the groups and they have done it well. It’s a real plus for us.
“We have a run of games and it’s really useful. We can concentrate in the week on the coming match.”
Bees Player subscribers can see a full interview with Lee Carsley below.