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" It's been a very busy week for everyone at the club, we started the week off with some good news about the finance side of it all, and obviously Neil (Shipperley) signing on Tuesday and Nathan (Abbey) on Thursday so it has been a very busy week for the club. We've been in contact with Neil for three weeks really and to be to fair to Neil we enquired about him and he has been on the phone to us as well, talks went quite well and then he's obviously decided to sign for us. We couldn't have afforded him had it not been for the £35,000 raised by the fans, he is their player.
" We've thought about Nathan, he's come in and done and really well for us. With us not knowing how long Stuart Nelson will be out for it would have been suicide to go into the last bunch of games with just one goalkeeper so that's why we decided to sign him.
" To be honest injuries are becoming a regular occurrence, I'm getting used to not fielding the same team week in, week out. Change after change and they always seem to be forced upon us, it would be nice to make the decisions myself. We've still got a few days left on the window, I've taken in quite a few but I'd still like to bring in a few more and hopefully a few will go out as well.
" To stay up this season we know that the home games are going to be vital, that's why I think the way the crowd were at the Leyton Orient game, with minutes to go they helped us without a doubt to get that point. It's going to be a vital game for us tomorrow. "
Meanwhile veteran striker Neil Shipperley spoke to the Richmond and Twickenham Times about his move to Griffin Park :
" Brentford are on my doorstep and it would give me great satisfaction to help them stay up. I have lived in Teddington for six years and followed the club's fortunes in that time. A couple of my friends are Bees supporters and I have gone to watch them a few times. The fact they are my local club swung it for me. Six other clubs wanted me. But signing for Brentford felt right.
" It was frustrating not getting a game for Sheffield United this season, so I asked to have my contract terminated and left on good terms. I was choked at not getting a chance, but the same thing happened at Palace - I helped take them into the Premiership and then made only two appearances from the bench. I am hoping to score a few goals for Brentford and use my experience to help bring the best out of their young players. Hopefully, our arrival can boost the team's confidence level. We are facing a big task and need to put a run together now because the other clubs in trouble are bound to win a few games."
New loanee defenders David Partridge and Che Wilson will miss the match through suspension after they were both red-carded in the 1-0 defeat at Yeovil last Saturday. Skipper Kevin O'Connor is also expected to watch the game from the sidelines due to a hamstring problem along with defenders Karleigh Osborne and Matt Heywood. In further injury news for the Bees long-term absentees Stuart Nelson, Clark Masters, Lloyd Owusu and Chris Moore are also absent from contention.
On the credit side for the Griffin Park club striker Neil Shipperley will make his debut after signing from Sheffield United on a deal until the end of the season. Due to the injuries to goalkeepers Nelson and Masters the number one jersey will be kept by Nathan Abbey after the ex-Torquay glovesman extended his contract from a week-to-week basis to the end of the current campaign on Thursday.
The referee for tomorrow's match is Ray Lee from Brentwood in Essex, and he will be assisted down the lines by two more men from Essex in John Magill from Colchester and Matt Stewart from Harwich. Meanwhile the fourth official will be Tony Mason from Sidcup in Kent.