Luis Melville of Brentford FC CST & local community station Westside Radio89.6FM caught up with Andy Scott at the training ground on Thursday.

Westside Radio 89.6FM offers comprehensive previews and match reports on all Brentford home and away games on Saturday afternoon 2-5pm. At home games take radio to the ground and listen in or take part in the show by calling 020 8571 1188, emailing presenter@westsideradio.co.uk or text the word 'WESTSIDE' followed by your message to 60300. Got a view about Brentford then it get them heard.

Luis Melville: It must be satisfying to know that after 180 minutes of football against Leeds United, not once did they get in front of you?

Andy Scott: Yes. We knew that going there on Saturday was going to be a tough one but we had the confidence from the home game. They probably had a couple of chances at Griffin Park. Wojciech made a good save early in the game but apart from that we were pretty solid and limited them to a few chances which was a good point for us. If anything it was going to give us a better chance at winning the game away from home because of the way they attack. There is always going to be a lot of pressure on sides like Leeds to win their home games at this stage in the season. They went through a poor spell and were going to push forward. We had to contain them for the initial part and we thought that as they got more and more frustrated they pushed numbers forward and I felt maybe we could have got a second goal so although a point is a good result when your leading you get greedy and want all 3 points.

LM: Did you sense that you're 18 minutes away from quite a famous victory for Brentford that they were panicking a little bit?

AS: I don't know if panic is the right word. They were getting a little bit frustrated. The crowd was very quiet throughout the whole game. I think they realised we weren't giving them many opportunities. Certainly when we went a goal ahead, if we held out for a little bit longer, even that goal we conceded, I thought that was the ball that we were defending well throughout the whole game. Unfortunately we weren't defending that one but we still had our chances at the end. We got the ball into our front players better in the second half and Myles really came into the game. He probably had a 20-25 minute spell in the second half that ripped them apart and that's what he can do to sides. I wasn't happy with him in the first half and told him he needed to get in the game more and could win the game for us. We believed from the previous Monday that we could go there and win the game and that was the point that we were making, that this isn't a game to go and contain. We knew we had to defend for long periods. You don't go to Leeds and expect to get something from the game without defending well. It was one that we were capable of winning and I just felt we needed to be on the front foot for a little bit more and take the game to them. And certainly in the second half we were able to do that and we got a lot more possession in better areas.

LM: And I suppose when you're walking off the pitch and hear the Elland Road faithful boo their own team that must give you the satisfaction of knowing that you frustrated them that much?

AS: I spoke to the players and it's all very well playing in front of 25-30,000 people but when they're on your side its great but when they're against you it's a benefit to the away side. You've got to try and make sure the opposition crowd get on their own teams backs which means it will help us. That was pretty much the case. They were very quiet from the off and I wasn't even getting any abuse from the dugout which is unusual and obviously our fans were fantastic and so the combination of all those things made us a little bit more comfortable.

LM: It was a good performance; the confidence must be there as well. How do you build on that now?

AS: Confidence has always been there. We lost at Walsall through a mistake, just an individual error. It wasn't anything to do with confidence. There's going to be ups and downs and peaks and troughs in performances but as far as confidence, we know we're capable of going anywhere and winning a game of football. We have to accept mistakes. We can't come into this league and expect to walk away into the playoffs and expect everything to fall into place straight away. Mistakes happen and that's how you learn and that's what we are here for. That's what the players are doing and we have been doing this season and that's why we're getting the results we are getting now. We've learnt from what we do and we will continue until the end of the season. It's not a case of changing anything really we've just got to keep playing the way we play against the better sides. Obviously it will be difficult, if we continue with the standards we've set recently then everyone is going to think that it's a tough game playing us.

LM: A word about Tommy Smith, he had a hell of a journey back. What about his performance?

AS: It's a measure of someone who is 20 years of age and by all accounts from the people at New Zealand he was absolutely outstanding against Mexico. You've got to remember he's a young lad who played in front of 90,500 people in Los Angeles. So all the travelling, the hype, the game, all the adrenaline and then to get straight back on a plane and fly back, travel up to Leeds he acquitted himself fantastically well and its turned out to probably be one of the best weeks of his life.

LM: Ryan Dickson, obviously there was a little bit of concern about how his injury would stand up in a game like that. How did he come through and the aftermath of that?

AS: Fine. It was a bruise to his knee that took a little bit longer to settle down than we thought. His performance was fantastic for not training for 2-3 weeks. He's capable of doing that. Probably other players wouldn't be able to do that but his fitness levels are frightening and the knee stood up well. He came in, we gave them all a day off on Monday because the effort they put in and obviously with the amount of games we've got coming up its important they get the time off to recuperate so that we can come out of the traps quickly and maintain the levels that we have done. With 'Dicko' he came through the game fine and he's worked hard to make sure he's fit for the game.

LM: Off the field the deal with Matthew Benham has been finalised. Are you happy with everything there and are you starting to look at playing budgets for next season?

AS: We've already had discussions about it and speaking to the board and Matthew's obviously been in touch with the board and his views and I'll be speaking to Matthew about his plans for the future. Where he wants things done and how we go about it. It's important that everyone knows exactly how we're going to go about it but we've been looking at players for a long time for next season at varying levels. We are quite a way down the line in making sure the ones we want we get as soon as possible and make sure we have the budget for it. Once everything's finalised in terms of the financial position for next year we'll have a better idea of what players we can bring in and what ones we can't afford.

LM: Potentially you will have to replace up to 5 loanees returning to their parent clubs. I should imagine your net is cast quite wide with the number of players you may need?

AS: Fortunately the board have been fantastic allowing us to improve our scouting network. We've got someone in charge of the scouting which means we are covering 15-20 games a week. We're having players watched several times by different people and then looking at the reports we receive to assess their suitability. So those games we look at players are vital and we must continue to do that so we can identify clear targets to improve this club. Terry and I have been out looking at players in games to make sure that we bring in the right ones. Hopefully we can secure the players we are interested in but you never know what other clubs are doing and what their interest may be. We need to replace the 5 loan players as I don't want to rely as much on loanees for next season.

LM: Will it be a consideration to maybe look at trying to keep 1 or 2 loan players here for next season?

AS: We are talking to all of the clubs whose players we have here. No decision has been made yet but we have made our intentions clear of what we would like to happen. We will continue the various dialogues to see if we can progress things further. Clearly there is an advantage to having players who already know and understand how we play then that makes my job easier.

LM: We mentioned it last week that this was the last clear week you have before the onslaught of the next 6 weeks with 13 games. How has training gone this week?

AS: We had a decent session on Tuesday but it's a fine line between not doing enough and pushing them too hard at this stage of the season. We're monitoring their work rates via the heart rate monitors they wear in training to make sure that we're not overworking them. The one's that haven't been playing regularly have to be pushed a little harder. The training schedule is constantly being reviewed to make sure it is appropriate for what is coming up over the next 6 weeks. Clearly we have to modify some of the training and ensure that they get sufficient recovery time between games.

LM: Was that something that you ever had to deal with as a player with the sort of schedule that your squad face now?

AS: I was ALWAYS tired though!!! As you get older you want to train but the legs just don't want to know. That's why we have to put the reins on some of the lads as they are so keen to train and do extra that we have to make sure they are not over training and that they listen to their bodies. We've made it very clear that they have to look after themselves between now and the end of the season. You can look at it two ways. Yes there are lot of games and it's going to be difficult or if we can get on a good run and the games although they will come thick and fast when you are winning then it becomes less of a factor as the confidence builds. In turn the players then look forward to games and they can't come round fast enough particularly if you are moving up the table. We had a bit of a break after the Walsall game and time to stew over the result and then bounced back with a good result at Leeds.

LM: We're getting towards the business end of the season and MK Dons are at Griffin Park on Saturday. If they are to keep on track for a promotion play off place then nothing else than a win will do for them so can we expect an open game?

AS: I wouldn't necessarily say an open game. I went to watch them on Tuesday night against Swindon. Defensively they are pretty sound. They've got some experienced players and a lot of energy about them. They've also got goals in their side. Their front three are all prolific players at this level. They've got a young lad from Arsenal in Randall who plays midfield. They've got players like Carrington who is a danger and the experience of Carrington. They're a side that has the experience and the know how which is why they are in the hunt for a promotion play off place. However, I was talking to Aidy Boothroyd the other day and he commented on our fantastic home record which we have and have to use that as a platform to continue to play with confidence and without fear. With the tremendous support of our fans we don't fear anyone who comes to Griffin Park.

LM: Their recent form over the last 8 games has been won 4 lost 4. They had a good win against Swindon midweek but then previous to that some strange results and in particular the 5-0 hammering they took off Carlisle. Does that make them a difficult side to prepare against as it's difficult to know which MK Dons will turn up?

AS: They've managed to win their last 2 games so I suppose they will come to us thinking they have got to keep winning to get on a run to ensure that they get in the play off zone. At this stage I don't think draws will be good enough for them. Draws tend not to get you anywhere in the long run so they will be definitely looking for a positive result. From our point of view we have to use this as another opportunity to show that we can match the top sides in this league as we did against Leeds last week. We can also do the double over MK Dons although we were probably a little fortunate at their place to get the 3 points.

LM: They say that teams tend to reflect their managers. Paul Ince's side are the League leaders in fouls and bookings. Your team are complete angels in comparison. So are expecting a quiet game?

AS: (Laughs out loud). I didn't know that.

LM: They've committed 481 fouls and Brentford 339 fouls. As far as bookings concerned they have picked up 107 yellow cards and yours is a paltry 36.

AS: Well our discipline is a very important part of our make up. Particularly when you have a comparatively small squad compared to some of the teams in this league you can't afford to have too many players picking up suspensions. This season we have done really well on that front. I think we've had a couple of sending offs and that's about it. I'm pleased with the disciplinary record but it's something we do stress to them that it's vital that they maintain their focus on the pitch and don't get drawn into situations where they could get booked or sent off. If you commit needless fouls you give teams opportunities from set pieces and as we know set pieces is a big part of the game these days. Earlier in the season we were probably committing more fouls than we are now but again that is part of their learning curve to play with discipline. I think what it does highlight about MK Dons is that they are very committed to the cause and getting stuck in for their manager. We expect nothing more than a tough game as they will want to avenge the defeat from earlier in the season. Paul will be adamant they can come here and take the points but equally we know if we can match last weeks performance we can take the points ourselves.

LM: Just picking up on the fouls issue. They are committing roughly 15 fouls a game so you know you are going to get a fair percentage of those in good attacking distance of their goal. Does this mean that you have to focus in on things like that in your match preparation and ensure that you have worked enough on set pieces in training?

AS: It's a big consideration. If we can pick up fouls in decent positions effectively it is like a free cross. It's an area where we want to be better and we scored a goal from a set piece last week. We're working on the various aspects of delivery and movement to maximise our chances from set pieces.

LM: Have you finally settled who scored that goal against Leeds?

AS: Yes it was 'Strevs'. I can't believe Charlie… He tried to pull the wool over my eyes after the game. I hadn't seen the playback and I couldn't really tell from the position I was in at the time we scored. 'Strevs' clearly scored it.

LM: Finally, the work has been done on the renovating and replacing areas of the pitch at Griffin Park. Have you had a chance to look at it yet?

AS: I'm going to go down and look at a bit later after training. Some areas have been re-laid and hopefully they will be able to withstand the glut of games we have coming up. With the weather improving over the last couple of week that will help it no end and hopefully the surface will benefit from that and enable us to play the way we want.

LM: Once again thanks and good luck Saturday.

AS: Cheers.