Ryan Woods thinks Brentford's tough pre-season training schedule will have him, and his teammates, ready to go when the new Sky Bet Championship season begins next month. The Bees are currently in Germany for a week-long training camp ahead of the season’ curtain raiser against Huddersfield Town on 6 August. This is the first time that Ryan has travelled overseas for pre-season and he told Bees Player that he is enjoying it, despite all the tough training sessions.
“This is the first time I have been away from England for pre-season so it is different for me,” said Ryan. “I am really enjoying it. I am used to going to army barracks or something like that so it is nice to come to a place like this and do what we are doing. It is tough but it needs to be like that for us to be in the best possible shape to start the season on 6 August.”
22-year-old Ryan joined The Bees from Shrewsbury Town last September and endured a tough opening month to life at Griffin Park. However, after coming through that he went on to establish himself as a near ever-present in the heart of midfield under Lee Carsley and then Dean Smith, going on to finish third in the Supporters’ Player of the Year poll.
“I had quite a difficult start,” said Ryan. “I didn’t play in the first four or five games and then, when I did get my chance, I made that mistake away at Leeds United. As I have said in my previous interviews it was good for me to have that sort of period as I had never felt that before. I had always been used to playing games and doing well. I made that mistake and I have learned from it. I am glad that it happened the way that it did and I think that it has made me a better player and a better person for it.”
Ryan went on to make 41 league appearances for Brentford in his first season adding two goals, both from stunning long-range strikes. After having a year to truly settle in at Griffin Park, Ryan is looking to add to both his appearance and goals tally next year, and help The Bees improve on last season’s ninth placed finish.
“For me it is always about playing games and I think that I managed to do that last season,” said Ryan. “I played 41 times for Brentford in my first season and I am really proud of that. It is something that I aim to do again this year, if not play more. I don’t like missing football matches so it will be my plan to play as many games as I can and if I can score a couple more goals it will be all the better for me and for the club. Our aim is to finish as high as we can in the league and, by the looks of things, we can push on from last year.”