Brentford centre-back Pontus Jansson stressed the importance of following up last week’s crucial win against Norwich with another positive result against Burnley on Saturday.
The Bees halted a torrid run of form thanks to Ivan Toney’s hat-trick at Carrow Road and will be looking to put more distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a win on Saturday.
Three points would put them nine clear of 18th placed Burnley but Jansson knows the margins are still fine and a good performance will be important.
“If we lose to Burnley it doesn’t mean a thing,” said Jansson.
“If we’d lost at Norwich the gap between us and the bottom three would be a totally different scenario so three points changes it a little bit. But if we lose against Burnley that feeling will come back again.
“We’ve breathed for a couple of days but we are training harder than ever now to give ourselves the best chance of a good result against Burnley. We need to carry on.”
Last week’s win against Norwich was the Bees’ first since 2 January and came at a crucial time as Thomas Frank’s men began to slip closer and closer to the relegation.
Jansson stressed how important the win was for the squad after some good performances that failed to yield points.
“Overall we were very happy and satisfied because we almost forgot the feeling of winning a football game. It’s probably the best feeling in the world.
“They have not been as bad as the results, so that’s something we’ve talked through over the weeks.
“It’s hard mentally for your confidence if you lose, but we always had a tough run and then Newcastle where we got a red card after ten minutes. At Norwich we showed we will keep going and hopefully we can build on that.”
Brentford now go into the final ten games of the season knowing that just a few wins will secure a second-ever season of Premier League football next term and Jansson feels this task will be boosted by the return of a number of players, including Christian Eriksen.
He said: “Christian is top class and to have him on the pitch gives us something.
“It was probably not the best performance in his life and he will grow from here, but it was just enough for us to have him on the pitch because that makes all of us grow.
“Everyone likes and loves him – even the Norwich fans applauded him at corners – and it helps us to have him here.
“We are so happy that he can play football first of all, but he’s also such a nice guy and character. You could say he’s a superstar but he is also one of us and we’re so happy to have him here.
“With David Raya back in goal and Josh Dasilva returning, we have a fit squad for the first time this season which is a massive boost. We’ve been unlucky with injuries. That’s not an excuse but it’s always going to be hard when you lose your best players.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here