Sam Saunders said Brentford’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over Crawley Town showed the strength in depth in the squad.
The Bees booked a place in the Southern Section Quarter Finals with a 1-0 win over the Sussex side.
Sam said Brentford deserved to progress after their second win over Crawley in three days.
The Bees beat the Sussex side 2-1 on Saturday and made five changes to the team but still had enough quality to beat them again.
“I think on the balance of play we just about deserved it,” said Sam, speaking to Bees Player after the match.
“They did well second half but we could have been out of sight in the first half.
“At the end we were holding on a bit.
“You can see the strength of our squad.
“We had players tonight that haven’t been involved recently and plenty of good players sitting in the stands.
“It shows the strength in depth.
“It’s the strongest squad since I have been here by a mile and every player knows that if they do not do the job for a couple of games, someone will be brought in that does.”
Sam scored the only goal of the game with 17 minutes remaining.
Scott Barron broke through on the left and put a ball across for Sam to finish at the far post.
Sam said he thought about squaring it to Antonio German but decided to go for goal and grabbed his first of the season.
“When I finished opening my eyes I saw it in the net, that was a relief,” said Sam.
“When it came across I know that as a right midfield player – and I haven’t done that recently for Brentford but have done in the past – you have to get around the back stick.
“You can get five goals a season from there.
“It’s come across, I was in two minds whether to cut it back to Antonio but I thought I’d have a go.
“I got a solid connection and it went in.
“People have been asking me when I was going to score so it’s good to get that off my back.”
Sam said he wanted to remind everyone of his ability during his appearance.
He picked up a calf injury against Tranmere Rovers in late September and missed the games against Shrewsbury Town last Tuesday and Crawley on Saturday.
He replaced Harry Forrester at half time in the JPT tie and said he wanted to put pressure on for a starting place.
“My objective tonight was to make an impact,” said Sam.
“I have been out of the team and sometimes it can be ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
“The boys have been doing well and it is nice for me to able to remind the gaffer that I can add something to the team.
“I have to keep putting pressure on for a starting place.
“I tweaked my calf at Tranmere.
“It set me back because I was due to start against Shrewsbury and I was disappointed not to.
“I got 45 minutes tonight and I want to play as much football as I can.
“I missed four or five starts so I found the first ten minutes or so hard.
“But once I got in to it and then got the goal, my confidence was flowing.”
A full video interview with Sam Saunders is available here for Bees Player subscribers.