Bristol City coach says he wanted to sign Brentford star

Bristol City assistant head coach Dean Holden has said he is a big admirer of Brentford’s Scott Hogan and wanted to sign the striker before his 2014 move to Griffin Park.

In-form Hogan will lead Brentford’s attack at Ashton Gate on Tuesday, eight months after scoring against City to kick-start an impressive run of 20 goals in 24 league games.

Holden revealed that when he and City boss Lee Johnson were in charge at Oldham, they wanted to sign Hogan from Rochdale, but the Bees got there first.

“We knew about him, because we were based in the north-west as well and word went about that he was a good player,” Holden told the Bristol Post.

“We would have liked to have signed him at that time, but he cost more money than we had to spend at Oldham and he went to Brentford instead.

“Scott is an old-fashioned striker in as much as he can hold the ball up and also use pace to go in behind. He is a powerful player and a real threat, who has been in good form.

“I think he has a bit of everything. He is strong, but he is also quick enough to go past defenders and he scores goals from all areas.”

However, Holden is confident that Bristol City’s defensive pairing of Aden Flint and Hordur Magnusson can keep Hogan quiet.

He added: “We have two very good central defenders and they have built a decent partnership this season.

“They have already shown they are good enough to handle the best strikers in the Championship.”