It’s been a frustrating time but I’m on the mend
This is my first West London Sport blog of the season and you might be wondering where I’ve been both on and off the field!
Despite being eight games into the season already, I have yet to make an appearance for Brentford and have only been on the bench for half those games.
I think it would be a good idea to let Bees fans know the reasons for this.
Basically I have had a minor recurrence of two previous injuries – in my shoulder and my knee – and it has been very frustrating.
I also had a problem in my back for a week and I feel like it‘s just one thing after the next at the moment.
I’m not sure whether it had something to do with the hard ground over the summer or whether it has something to do with me turning 30 next week (I’ll no longer be able to banter Kevin O’Connor about being in his 30s!) but I wasn’t really able to feature much in pre-season games either.
When I was younger I had some of the cartilage removed from my knee and it is now a question of managing things carefully and not doing too much.
It has been really disappointing to aggravate it again because I worked exceptionally hard in pre-season, doing a lot of work to specifically sort these long-term problems out and I really wanted to be 100% fit for the start of the season.
But you’ll [hopefully!] be pleased to know I am working harder than ever with the club physios to sort things out, and I’m hoping to return within the next couple of weeks.
I must give a special mention to our head physio Neil Greig. His attention to detail is second to none and I’ve no doubt that under his guidance I’ll come back stronger than ever.
While I have been on the sidelines though I have been able to get a strong outsider’s perspective on our start to the season, and I have to say I am delighted that Simon Moore has done so well in my absence.
I know Simon very well, we speak in-depth before every game and work closely together and he couldn’t be a better guy to have around.
I have been helping him with the psychological side of things, something I’ve studied intensely myself, and he’s really taking to it.
Simon shows a real interest in that side of the game. I’ve never known anyone so focused and to have such a fantastic attitude towards learning and improving. He is extremely open-minded and I think it is showing in his performances.
Rest assured though, when I am ready to return, I will be fighting for my place back in goal!
Obviously this does raise the inevitable question of competition for places and how players feel about that.
On camera we all say that any successful club needs to have competition for places, and that much is clear when you see that all Premier League clubs have this right across the board. You can’t just have 11 players who are ready and want to play.
But I can honestly say that players do believe it’s a good thing. Obviously there will be the odd moan and show of frustration here and there, but the way I always think about it is that it highlights those who are willing to push harder and do more to get into the team and, in the process, it raises the game of those already in the team too.
I am pleased we have real competition for places at Brentford this season and it can only be a good thing for the club.
The new players that have come in have all been fantastic. Farid El Alagui has been eye-opening in training with his quality. He is a great player. But I’ve also been impressed with the guys who have come back like Shay Logan and Harlee Dean. They have slotted back in nicely.
Adam Forshaw too, seems to be really coming into his own and settling into the first team.
We have a lot of new players this season and it inevitably takes time for a new group of players to settle and start playing at the top of their game. Our aim is to improve on last season’s finish and I think we will do that.
So I would say we’ve had a decent start. We have nothing to be too concerned about despite not having had the results we would have wanted at times. But the performances have been positive and, at times, excellent.
From my own point of view though, I’m desperate to get back.
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