Brentford defender Andreas Bjelland feels the group are in a good place heading to the North West to take on Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Last Saturday’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Sky Bet Championship leaders Newcastle United was a first loss in five games for Dean Smith's side since Christmas. Despite the defeat, Andreas feels the performance showed that The Bees can match any team in the league and that has given the team a confidence boost ahead of Saturday’s trip to the DW Stadium.
“There is a good atmosphere right now and everybody feels good,” said Andreas, speaking to Bees Player ahead of the match. “We felt that we played well against Newcastle United and we have to build on that. We didn’t start that well in the first 20 minutes but in the last 70 we worked ourselves really well into the game. There were a lot of good things and we saw a lot of good clips as a group, and as individuals, that we can take with us. We showed that we can play against the best teams in the league and Newcastle are the best team in the league. It was a tough period over Christmas so it was important to do well over that, which we did. We are through in the cup and had a good game against Newcastle United, even though we lost. There is a good spirit in the group and we are looking forward to the next game.”
The first meeting between The Latics and The Bees, at Griffin Park back in October, ended in a goalless stalemate. Despite their lowly position in the table, Andreas is expecting another tough game but feels that the expectation on Wigan to go for the three points might make it a more open match which will suit The Bees.
“It is going to be a difficult game,” said Andreas. “At Griffin Park they parked the bus and made it difficult for us. They waited for us and we weren’t good enough to open them up. It will be a tough game up there but it is something that we have to look forward to as we try to build on last Saturday. It will be better for us if they want to come out a little bit as they are at home. We just have to wait and see and play our game. Hopefully, that will be more than enough. If we can move the ball fast, like we did against Newcastle United, then they are going to struggle against that.”
The switch to three at the back has seen Andreas establish himself on the left-hand side of The Bees defence in recent months. While he admits that getting fully to grips with the new formation is still a work in progress, Andreas has seen plenty of improvements both personally and as a team.
“We feel good as a defensive unit but that starts all the way at the top with the strikers putting on the first pressure,” said Andreas. “With the system that we play it is important that everybody is doing the right thing when we are defending. It is a process and every game we get better defending as a group. The new system suits me as I like playing on the left-hand side as a centre-back while still having the chance to move forward with the ball and join in the attacking side. As a team it looks like we are getting better and better at it as well.”