Barnet boss revels in finding decent wines at Aldi while rivals have luxury of M&S - Plus: Ryan Glover future
- By Yann Tear
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Dean Brennan says he is proud of what his players are doing this season and believes that they are showing the character needed to compete with clubs boasting much bigger budgets.
The Bees lost a highly entertaining clash against one of League Two's fancied sides on Tuesday night - but the Bees showed again in the defeat to Swindon Town at the Hive that they can mix it with the best and remain in with a shout for the play-offs.
Brennan was more upbeat than deflated by the 2-1 loss, saying :"We'll keep going, we'll keep striving. We're not giving up on anything just yet. There's still 14 games to play and there's a lot football to be played and there'll be a lot of twists and turns.
"I'm proud of the lads' performance. All season we've gone to the line in everything we've done. If we come up short on quality, so what? We're a small football club, let's be honest. We've one of the lowest budgets in the division but we give our all in every game and we should be proud of that.
"At the end of the day we're shopping at Aldi, not Marks and Spencer - but I think we're finding some decent wine at Aldi. We've got some really great players that are progressing really well and are a force in the EFL."
Brennan continued: "I would say we're an established EFL Two side now after 32 games. When we started the season, we looked like we were going to get relegated after losing the first three games, so I think the lads have done great. They've bounced back well. They've got some character about them, they work their socks off.
"I always say to them: 'Represent your family well' and I would say at least 20 out of the 25 in the squad have represented their family well. There are one of two that I believe haven't done enough but I think we've given a good a count of ourselves.
"I think in all the underlying stats we are in the top three for pressing, possession, touches in the opposition box and expected goals but at the end of the day what matters is both boxes and the output of numbers at the top end makes us a mid-table team. I think we've also dropped 18 points from leading positions this season - it's something we have to fix."
Ryan Glover was again outstanding for the Bees down the right side of midfield, with his energy and aerial prowess.
Brennan said: "Brilliant player Ryan. Works on his game every day. Always goes to the line, always first in and last to leave. An impeccable professional. He's a lovely, pleasant kid and delighted for lads like him that helped us win the league last year.
"Now he's had so much interest in the last window. Ryan's got to keep doing what he's been doing and if he can chip in with goals, I think he can make a double jump and go up to the Championship."
Is there a chance he could still stay in the summer? "No," was Brennan's honest reply.
Looking back at the game, the Bees boss said: "It was a great game tonight. A really good advert for the division and we're up there fighting against a really good side and a really experienced manager - a huge football club for this level.
"It was two teams having a right go at each other and we've just come up a tiny bit short with the opportunities that we had. We had a great start with a great team goal but we never capitalised on that. We had opportunities to do it with brilliant scenarios on the edge of their box.
"We can only blame ourselves for not taking the opportunities that we missed. But we emptied the tank tonight - as we have done in every game this season."
