Nathan Collins: 'The attitude of the team is unbelievable. It’s one of the strongest squads we’ve ever had'
STRONGEST SQUAD: Nathan Collins believes that Brentford have the strongest squad they ever had. Pic: Jack Thomas/Getty Images
To many they were the pre-season relegation favourites. Rookie manager? Check. Star strikers either sold or refusing to play? Check. Ask Nathan Collins though and he'll tell you a different tale. The lad from Leixlip is in his third season as a Bee and reckons they have hardly been stronger.
Yet Collins, 24 and captain now, was not surprised so many were quick to write off his club the moment Thomas Frank left for Tottenham and Keith Andrews made the unusual step from set-piece coach to manager. After all, Bryan Mbeumo had gone to Manchester United and Yoann Wissa was on strike to force his Newcastle switch. Surely a struggle was in the offing?
“We get that every season!" Collins said. “We're in our own bubble with good people around us, from the hierarchy to the chefs, everyone wants the best. We will keep trying to do the right things.
“The attitude of the team is unbelievable. It’s one of the strongest squads we’ve ever had.”
Chelsea won't want to argue otherwise given that the Club World Cup holders had to settle for a draw thanks to Fabio Carvalho's stoppage-time equaliser.
Granted, four points from four games is hardly the kind of record that guarantees a relegation battle is no longer in the offing. But then again Jordan Henderson doesn't tend to do relegation battles.
Henderson may be 35 but his Brentford arrival from Ajax already hints at being one of the signings of the summer. The former Liverpool man, back in the England fold because of what he offers Thomas Tuchel off the pitch as well as on it, produced an exquisite 50-yard pass to set up Kevin Schade for Saturday’s 35th-minute opener.
“It's great to have Jordan," said Collins, the centre-back with 32 Republic of Ireland caps to his name. "He takes the pressure off me as well. He's a big personality and if he talks to the referee I can concentrate on my game a bit.
“He brings a level and standard and that's a necessity. He has helped me a lot.
“He's just unbelievable on a Saturday. When he's at it on a Saturday we all are. I think Jordan is still England class.”
Saturday’s peculiar 8pm kick-off brought out the best and worst of Chelsea. Abject in the first half, they were so much better in the second, helped by the introduction of Cole Palmer, back after pulling up lame with groin trouble minutes before last month's 5-1 thrashing of West Ham.
The England international entered the pitch in the 56th minute and five minutes later had made it 1-1 with an instinctive first-time location of the side of the netting from Joao Pedro’s knock down.
Chelsea thought they had won it when Moises Caicedo fired home powerfully five minutes from time but they switched off at a Schade long throw three minutes into stoppage time allowing for Carvalho’s tap-in, which survived a VAR check, a rarity these days it seems.
Palmer possesses the talisman qualities that may lead to more Chelsea trophies and the amount of space he is able to find allowed the game to turn his side's way, although this may ultimately be two important points dropped.
“He's an unbelievable player and it was nice to see him on the bench at the start!" said Collins. "We know when he comes in he has quality with his left foot. You can see with his finish it was a top finish.
“The game did change when he came on though. A player of that standard, everyone knows how good he is. He did change the tempo but we dusted ourselves down."
For Chelsea and Enzo Maresca it is a question of managing Palmer. This was his first football since the opening day having missed two Chelsea matches and two England ones and how much game time he gets on Wednesday for the Champions League match at Bayern Munich is still uncertain.
Maresca said: “Cole was not fit to play from the start at Brentford. It's quite easy. It's from the medical staff, it's from the players, it's from when we take a decision with an injury player, it's always from all of us. So when Cole is fit, we are very, very happy.
“We said many times that with Cole in the team, we are a much, much better team.”
Kelleher 7; Kayode 6 (Hickey 83, 6), Collins 7, Pinnock 6 (Ajer 83, 60, Van den Berg 6, Lewis-Potter 6 (Carvalho 90, 6); Yarmoliuk 6 (Ouattara 73, 6), Henderson 8, Jensen 6; Schade 7, Thiago 6 (Henry 72, 6).
: Valdimarsson, Janelt, Onyeka, Nelson
Sanchez 6, Fofana 5 (James 46, 7), Chalobah 7, Adarabioyo 6, Hato 5 (Cucurella 46, 6); Caicedo 7, Fernandez 7; Neto 6, Buonanotte 5 (George 46, 6), Gittens 6 (Palmer 56, 7); Pedro 6 (Garnacho 79, 6).
: Jorgensen, Gusto, Acheampong, Santos.
: Stuart Attwell 7.
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