Josh McEachran believes his time at Middlesbrough forced him to 'grow up quickly' as a player and a person.

The former Chelsea man, who joined Brentford last summer, spent the 2012/13 season on loan with Boro and impressed sufficiently to be named as the club's young player of the year by their supporters.

And McEachran believes the move, coupled with the distance from Surrey, forced him to develop at a faster rate than he would have done at Chelsea.

He said: “I enjoyed it. It was my first full season out on loan. I played 35-40 games and it was my first proper experience in the Championship. I really enjoyed working under Tony (Mowbray).

"I was only 18 or 19, living five hours from home, which was difficult at the start but I got used to it. I grew up quickly.

Now a Bee: Josh McEachran

"I made some good friends up there. There's still a few players at the club from my time there, like George Friend, Ben Gibson and Grant Leadbitter.”

But friendships go out the window when Brentford face Middlesbrough tonight and McEachran will be out to impress on his first appearance against his former side, if selected.

He added: “You want to impress in every game but once you've been at a club you definitely want to impress even more."