Brentford's Sam Saunders shows his staying power

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 16: Brentford manager Uwe Rosler with goals score Sam Saunders at the end of the match in the npower League One match between Brentford and Preston North End at Griffin Park on March 16, 2013 in London, England, (Photo by Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images) p72

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Nik Simon

22 March 2013

The way Sam Saunders has sparked into life could lead people to believe the Brentford midfielder is playing for his future.

Saunders’s contract expires this summer and although he has scored three goals in his last four games, his motivation is letting out his frustrations from earlier in the season rather than trying to prove a point to the board.

The east London boy at the west London club was handed just five starts out of 31 games at the start of the campaign but is now playing a pivotal role in a side who travel to promotion rivals Sheffield United tomorrow.

“When you’re used to playing and are then on the bench, it’s tough,” said Saunders, who scored an injury-time winner against Preston last week. “But you’ve got to realise that you’re a part of the squad and the next best way to help the team is to be positive to the lads that are playing, train hard and keep pushing for your spot. If I was the manager, then that’s how I’d want my players to react.

“My contract is up at the end of the season and that’s as far as it has gone at the minute. I think I’ve performed well enough over the last few years and the club know exactly what they’re going to get from me so I don’t think the next five or six games will make a difference.

“All I can do is keep performing to the levels I’ve set myself and, hopefully, it will come. I want to stay but it’s out of my hands and all I can do is concentrate on getting the team promoted.”

The contest for promotion is so tight that defeat for Uwe Rosler’s side tomorrow could see them drop from second to fifth in League One.

Brentford enjoyed a high-profile FA Cup run that took them to a fourth-round replay at Stamford Bridge last month but Saunders accepts their heroics against Chelsea will be a small consolation if they fail to win promotion this season.

“It’s the biggest game of the season for us,” said the 29-year-old, who was a youth player at Charlton. “Chelsea has gone. We haven’t spoke about it since we lost at their place. The cup run was nice but to get promotion would be 20 times better.”

Brentford’s run-in includes games against Notts County, MK Dons and Coventry, all of whom are still in the race for promotion, before a final-day clash against current table-toppers, Doncaster. There is no chance Saunders will shy away from the fight.

“Looking at that fixture list brings a smile on your face and gets you excited,” said Saunders, who joined Brentford in the summer of 2009 from Dagenham and Redbridge. “You want big games and if you’re not looking forward to these last eight games, you shouldn’t be playing football. We’re all buzzing for it.”

While Saunders’s future is yet to be decided, chairman Greg Dyke is one face who will be leaving Brentford this summer when he takes up the same role with the Football Association. “It would be a nice present for him to leave with [promotion],” said Saunders. “Everyone wants to leave on a wave of success.”

But if Brentford do go up, Saunders hopes he will be sticking around.

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Brentford's Sam Saunders shows his staying power

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