Marinus Dijkhuizen believes that confidence is high in the Brentford camp after they picked up their first home win of the season last time out against Preston North End.
Second-half goals from Lasse Vibe and Marco Djuricin saw The Bees record a first home success of the season after falling behind inside a minute against North End.
Ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Griffin Park by Sheffield Wednesday Marinus said that training has been good this week driven by the confidence gained from last Saturday’s three points.
“You always have a better week after you win than after you lose,” said Marinus, speaking to Bees Player. “The confidence and the quality was better especially on Monday and Tuesday. It was a very important victory for the players and staff because we have had a lot of problems so it was good to finally get a home win. It was good to comeback after being 1-0 down inside a minute so it has been a nice week.
“Every game over here is tough, it doesn’t matter who you are playing. It is good to have another two games at home with no travelling. The injuries are the same as last week apart from the fact that James Tarkowski is back which is good. There are no new injuries which is also good. Andy Gogia is nearly ready and will be in my thoughts for Tuesday.”
Sheffield Wednesday come to Griffin Park on the back of a 1-0 Capital One Cup success at St James’ Park against Newcastle United and a Sky Bet Championship victory over Fulham last Saturday.
Marinus is expecting an open game against a side, high on confidence after their League Cup success, who have been involved in 22 goals in their eight matches league matches so far this season.
“I have watched Sheffield Wednesday’s last couple of games,” said Marinus. “They scored three set-pieces against Fulham and they played well away at Burnley. They are good in attack with their striker and two running midfielders. Barry Bannan is a good player on the left and he plays a bit like Alan Judge does for us. They have a lot of attacking quality but they have also conceded a lot of goals like us.
“It will be a good game to watch on Saturday. It was a big win for them against Newcastle United especially as they made ten changes. They have used 24 players in seven games so they have rotated a lot and have a big squad. When you win against Newcastle having made ten changes the whole squad gets a boost. They have won two games in a row so they have a lot of confidence.”
Last Saturday’s win against Preston North End ended a run of four games without a win for Brentford under Head Coach Marinus Dijkhuizen.
The Bees’ boss said that he felt under pressure during that run, not from anyone inside or outside the football club, but rather from himself and his desire to be a winner.
“When you lose there is always a little bit of pressure but that is life in football,” said Marinus. “I have no pressure from the board but I put pressure on myself because I want to win. I am a winner and I play to win. I do everything during the week for that so as a manager you put pressure on yourself and on the team for the win. You need to have pressure on yourself otherwise you can’t win.
“I don’t read the papers over here so I don’t listen to much from the outside. The scrutiny at Excelsior was much smaller because we were the underdogs and everyone thought we were going to go down again. Last year it was a massive achievement for Brentford but all the supporters and media who are close to Brentford have seen what has happened in the last couple of months. With all the injuries and other problems to be where we are in the league is normal.”
Marinus has been impressed with the way that senior members of his squad have stepped up in recent weeks and taken charge on the field.
The Dutch Head Coach believes it is important to have leaders throughout the team both on and off the pitch to get the best out of both the players and the staff.
“I can’t reach all my players during the game with the intensity of the match,” said Marinus. “It is good to have leaders in the team both in the dressing room during the week and during the match. When somebody is struggling the players on the pitch can help them. We have four or five players who have been at Brentford for a few years so they have stepped up in the last couple of games. We don’t have one big leader but we have three or four leaders on the pitch which is better.
“I will lead the feedback meetings but I want to know what they think about the game and what they are feeling on the pitch. I think that is the best way for them and for me. I will also sit down sometimes with the players and find out how things are going and how they feel. The most important thing for a Head Coach is to have a good connection with your players otherwise you have a problem.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Marinus below