Bees braced for Gray exit
MARINUS Dijkhuizen admits he has no control over the future of Andre Gray as Championship rivals Hull continue to be linked with the striker.
Gray started yesterday’s clash against Ipswich Town on the bench after claiming continued talk about a potential £9million move meant he was not in the right frame of mind to start.
The former Luton man eventually came on in the second half and helped the hosts rally for a point having found themselves two goals down entering injury time.
But Brentford boss Dijkhuizen admitted Gray’s performance would only enhance Hull’s lust for the player.
“I have spoken a lot with Andre he is a very quick rising star at the club but Hull want him and are bidding for him,” said Dijkhuizen.
“He said to me he was not mentally ready to play in the game which I accepted. But I needed him to come off the bench and he was ready for it.
“He got a good goal, added something to the attack and maybe added £5m to his price tag. He is a big player and would be a big loss to us.
“Sometimes money talks and every player has a price in this world and sometimes you have to accept it. I hope he doesn’t leave but sometimes you have to live with that.”
Brentford looked dead and buried just after half-time as onloan Bournemouth player Ryan Fraser tapped in Ipswich’s second.
Fraser was on hand to slot the ball into an empty net after former West Ham striker Freddie Sears had used his pace to destroy the hosts’ defence before cutting the ball back.
Mick McCarthy’s side had gone ahead on the stroke of half-time when Mauritian international Kevin Bru found David Button’s right hand corner.
Brentford had no choice but to put Gray on in the second half and they have him to thank for rescuing a point.
Gray halved the deficit with just minutes to play when he latched onto a good through ball from James Tarkowski and the 24-yearold made no mistake as he used his pace to meet the pass before slotting the ball home.
It may have only been the first game of a long season but Dijkhuizen gave goalkeeper Button permission to go up for the corner with just seconds remaining in order to try and steal a point.
And his side were rewarded for their do or die attitude with a dramatic equaliser as Tarkowski bundled the ball home, much to McCarthy’s disappointment.
“It’s an annoying one,” he said. “We should’ve won that. We conceded two really easy goals and although both sides had chances we had the better.We missed them and paid the price for sloppiness. I was delighted with the way we played, we were terrific.
“And it’s a shame those two or three minutes could potentially blight you. But I won’t let them, it was a good performance.
“If you don’t score a third goal and then forget to lock the back door then you have nobody to blame but yourselves.
“There are 45 games left to go and I’m sure I will have this feeling again before the end of the season.
“Their manager will know they have had a bit of a doing over here because for the majority of the 90 we were fantastic but for three minutes we weren’t.
“I’ll be fine with the lads on the bus because we play Tuesday and then Saturday again and then it’s roll on May.”