IF BRENTFORD FANS are searching for some bit of hope ahead of their visit to Manchester City tonight, the fact that Nathan Collins has the same amount of interceptions as Virgil van Dijk in the Premier League this season may provide a crumb of comfort.
You’d find it anywhere you can in their situation.
Collins and Van Dijk are tied on 29, with Everton’s James Tarkowski the centre back with the most (41). Ethan Pinnock, Collins’ teammate, is fourth on the list with 36 but is ruled out until late March with an ankle injury.
It means the 22-year-old is set to shoulder more responsibility in a crucial period, with Brentford now just five points clear of Luton Town in the relegation zone after a dreadful run that has seen them lose 10 of their last 13 Premier League games and keep just one clean sheet.
The Bees may be the only side to win at the Etihad Stadium in the last 37 league games – stretching back to November 2022 – but they’re coming off a 4-1 hiding at home to Liverpool and face a City team eager to make amends in their game in hand after drawing 1-1 with Chelsea on Sunday.
Victory for Pep Guardiola will bring them to within one point of leaders Liverpool and one clear of Arsenal in a title race that doesn’t quite feel like it will be a procession.
Somehow cutting out the supply line to Erling Haaland, who missed a glut of chances in a scarcely believable performance in front of goal at the weekend, will, of course, be crucial. Collins’ knack of being in the right place at the right time to intercept is sure to be a useful weapon in their defensive arsenal.
The task of stifling Haaland will not be a new one for the Republic of Ireland international.
It’s a little over a year ago now when the then 21-year-old was a key component of the Wolverhampton Wanderers side that frustrated City and Haaland… for all of 40 minutes.
Yet it was quite a sight to see the Norwegian striker cut an almost desolate figure at some points in the first half, carrying out his duties as the man to close down defenders from the front with the kind of disinterest that would go viral on social media if it were someone like, say, Marcus Rashford.
The difference is in what came next.
Wolves had grown comfortable in the game, so much so that at one point Collins controlled a spinning ball over his head under pressure from Kevin De Bruyne and spun away from him with a Cruyff turn when he was the last line of defence.
“I don’t just see football as a job. I go out there and I want to play against the best, I want to play against the best in the world, I want to try and be the best in the world,” Collins said at the time.
“In the game, you’re switched on, you’re enjoying it, but looking at it afterwards [when you’ve lost] it’s annoying, it’s frustrating. You get down, your head could be gone. But in that moment it is what you want to do, you have to enjoy it.”
Haaland ended the afternoon with a hat-trick.
For the first he peeled off the back of Collins for a powerful header five minutes before half-time. A penalty and routine tap in followed early in the second half.
In almost a blink of an eye Haaland was able to take a game away from them, and Collins could do nothing to prevent it.
The City striker still has that ability to leave opponents helpless.
Almost 12 months on Collins has the chance to show he has learned some lessons.
Another transfer has not required a settling-in period in the shadows. At Brentford he has played 20 times – the fourth highest in England’s top flight among current Ireland internationals.
Dara O’Shea (21), Chiedozie Ogbene and Evan Ferguson (both 23) have featured more, but Collins’ tally of 1,631 minutes is behind only O’Shea (1,838).
He doesn’t turn 23 until 30 April and his body of work at the top level in England continues to grow with experiences that should only make him a more rounded and assured defender – Mo Salah’s strength and presence of mind to get the better of Collins on Saturday a reminder of the work he still must do.
“I still think I have a long way to go, I’m still young, but I think if I keep working hard and keep dedicated to the game, I think I will give myself a chance. But you need to do things right, you need the people around you to be right, you need people in your ear telling you when you’re right and when you’re wrong, what you can improve on.
“At the end of the day it’s down to yourself. It’s whether you take it or not,” Collins reflected after the 3-0 defeat to City last year.
They are words that still remain true now, and tonight will provide a greater indication of the strides he has taken up against the league’s best striker.
