Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard has vowed to “build” more confidence, after a positive start to the season.
Since he joined from Sampdoria in August 2022, Damsgaard endured a difficult first two seasons in English football as he dealt with various injuries and confidence issues as he adapted to life at Brentford.
This season though has seen the 24 year-old Denmark international find form with nine appearances, during which he scored his maiden club goal for the Bees in a 3-1 Carabao Cup win at home to London rivals, Leyton Orient.
“It’s taken longer than I thought it would to get to this point,” commented Damsgaard on his progress, “but hopefully I can keep going now and keep proving to Thomas [Frank] why I should play.”
Damsgaard proceeded to speak about how his knee injury last season impacted him both psychologically and physically, from self-belief to movement and the visual awareness of confidence on the pitch.
“When you’ve had a long-term injury, you don’t have your confidence. Your body doesn’t move the way you want it to, but you don’t understand why it doesn’t.
“The first step is being able to move the way you want; then you can do the things you have in your mind.”
“You can see it so clearly if someone is playing with or without confidence.
“It’s the small things: a midfielder receives a pass, and instead of laying it off he turns quickly and plays forward.
“When you have a lot of confidence you think less and do what feels right.”
Reflecting on his start to the season, Damsgaard believes that he is on the right track but is keen to show more quality.
“I definitely think I can still build on my confidence, but I’m in a good space right now.
“Sometimes I could still be more aggressive around the box, creating more chances and maybe being a bit more selfish to finish or look for a pass that’s going to create a goal.
“I need to play freely and not overthink it too much.”
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