Record Brentford signing Nathan Collins says he was in “disbelief” at how much the club’s detailed scouting system knew about him.
Collins joined Brentford in a £23million deal from Wolves over the summer and the Republic of Ireland centre-back wants to take his game to a new level under Bees manager Thomas Frank.
“You look at Thomas and think, ‘He has progressed a lot of players and he can do it with me’,” said Collins, who will line up for Brentford against west London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
“It is a very good club for progressing - the staff and club do it really well.
“The conversations we’ve had make me trust him and I have bought into it. He (Frank) is a great thinker with different styles of play.
“It was a bit of a shock how much he and the club knew about me; they knew more about me than I know about myself. I was in disbelief.
“How they think about the game is different and refreshing, they are up with the best. I just want to get better and make myself the best I can possibly be.
“It felt like the right pathway to become a stronger defender.”
Collins believes Brentford can qualify for Europe this season, even after losing top scorer Ivan Toney to an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.
“We are going to push each other,” he said. “We have healthy competition now. We want to push ourselves again as a group and go for higher again.
“We know it will be tough and teams around us like Chelsea and Spurs will pick up more points, but we as a group trust each other and know what to do.”
