Tom Field said that the fans’ backing helped him through his professional debut in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Fulham at Griffin Park. The left-back, who turned 19 last month, replaced Jake Bidwell as The Whites travelled to TW8 and was involved in The Bees opening goal after four minutes, forcing Ashley Richards into a mistake which allowed Sergi Canos to cross for Sam Saunders to score. Tom also got the assist for The Bees third goal as his corner was slammed home from close range by Scott Hogan.
Speaking to Bees Player after the match Tom said: “It was a good run out. When I got the assist it was an unbelievable feeling. The fans were great and the atmosphere was great, making my debut in a West London derby. I thought that I would be more nervous but the fans were right behind me, screaming my name. I would like to say that I was involved in all three goals but I will take one assist. For the first goal it was about pressing and showing him backwards because Dean told me not to let him down the line because he is quick. I showed him backwards and luckily we got the ball back and scored. The second one was just a good delivery in.”
Lifelong fan Tom, who comes from a family of Brentford fans, joined The Bees as a 14-year-old and progressed through the ranks before signing his first professional contract last summer. The defender recently signed a new deal to take him through to June 2017 and feels that he still had a lot of improvement to come.
“I know that I have more to come, that’s not my best performance,” said Tom. “I am still going to kick on, that is not me done. I know that I can improve a lot and I have a lot more to come. I want to show the fans what I can do attacking. I was a bit more defensive today and a bit more nervy but attacking is a main thing in my game. I want to try and push Jake Bidwell as best as I can. He is a great player but I am going to try and push him and make him better too.”
Tom was the 19th man as The Bees travelled to Derby County in the Capital One Cup in 2014 but Saturday’s match was his first taste of professional action. The 19-year-old used to stand on the Ealing Road Terrace and admitted that his family couldn’t believe he would be swapping the stand for the pitch on Saturday.
“When Dean told me that I was starting I wasn’t thinking that I deserved it but I thought that I was ready for it,” said Tom. “I’ve been waiting three years for this and I wasn’t too nervous until the night before. My family all have Season Tickets so they had tickets. They were texting me saying that they couldn’t believe it. I used to stand in the terrace and watch Brentford as a young kid and now I am playing.”
Bees Player subscribers can watch the full interview with Tom below