Glenn Poole has revealed the personal angst which compounded his sense of frustration at being substituted during Saturday's hugely deflating 1-1 draw with Lincoln City.
The winger was replaced by Sam Wood 15 minutes from the end and did not hide his displeasure - pointedly avoiding Andy Scott for the customary handshake with the boss.
Poole seemed to have caught the general mood of frustration with events at the weekend - the Bees apparently more affected than the visitors by a 40-minute delay in the kick-off because of Lincoln's late arrival at Griffin Park.
But he told the Gazette there was even more on his mind than the lost points.
"I should have been a little less obvious about being so disappointed at coming off.
"But I've had a tough week because my grandad's in hospital and maybe things got on top of me a little bit," he said.
"He's been in for a week now - he had a mini heart-attack last week and sometimes things are more important than football.
"It felt like one thing after another and it has been a disappointing week for me.
"But I shouldn't have reacted the way I did and I will be ringing the boss to apologise."
Poole continued: "I'm one of those guys that wants to be on the pitch every minute of every game - that's just the way I am.
"Maybe I should have been a little more professional and just sulked when I came off but I care about my football and this club more than anything and I want to make a difference.
"I felt like I was coming more and more into the game second half and getting into positions where I could be effective.
"When you come off, you are helpless to affect the result - but if we'd scored a winner in the last minute, I'd have been as happy as anyone."
Poole's strop was understandable given the outcome for the Bees, whose annoyance at not being able to start on time was fuelled by a failure to capitalise on a lead given to them by Nathan Elder.
The striker pounced to crash home an unstoppable drive after Lincoln defenders got in each other's way trying to head clear a long throw-in from Brett Johnson.
City, without an away point before the weekend, rallied well and struck a smart equaliser through Adrian Patulea, whose left footer found the bottom corner from distance after he had outstripped Alan Bennett.
After that, the Bees found their opponents in stubborn mood - who wouldn't be after being cooped up in a bus for six hours because of bad traffic? - and the game degenerated into a scrappy affair, not helped by an over-fussy referee.
There could be no complaints that the points were shared, however.
"It was very disappointing. We should really have taken all three points, " said Poole. "They are the sort of games we need to be winning to be seriously up there.
"We've set our standards very high as a team which means the disappointment is even bigger
"But at least the draw keeps our unbeaten run going."
Scott was angry with Lincoln for failing to notify officials until 2pm that they would be late for the fixture.
"Probably three hours before the game started, they knew they were going to be late and we didn't know they were going to be late until an hour before the game, so they're prepared and we're not. We could have changed our preparation.
"The nervous tension is naturally there and that probably took a little bit out of them. You eat and you prepare and your sleeping patterns are all geared to three o'clock.
"We went out for the warm-up and had to come back in and it does disrupt you. Your nervous energy's there and maybe it's a little difficult to get yourself up and at it again."
Poole said: "As soon as we got here, we realised they weren't here but we'd prepared for three o'clock and we were warming up when we were told to go back in.
"All we could do was keep drinking plenty of fluid and limber up while keeping the banter going. To be fair, if we'd won the game we said it would have been to our advantage and it's just one of those things that happens. We can't make excuses."
Looking ahead to this weekend's game, Poole noted: "Chesterfield have had a dodgy bit of form but there's nothing like a wounded animal and we have to be careful.
"But we will travel full of confidence and I think sometimes our style of play suits us better away from home.
"Hopefully I'll get a chance to make up for this week. I'm pleased with my form but I think there's a lot more to come.
"I think I've upped my game from last year and I've scored three goals already, which is really pleasing. Now I just want to kick on and do better." Match Summary BRENTFORD (1) 1 LINCOLN (1)1 Line-up: Hamer; Newton (Ademola 83), Wilson, Bennett, Johnson; Williams (Phillips 46), Bean, Wright, Poole (Wood 74); Elder, MacDonald. Subs not used: Brown, Pead. Attendance: 4,557 GOALS: Elder (24), Patulea (30).
MoM: Adrian Patulea Next Up
CHESTERFIELD
Saltergate Saturday 3pm League Two
Manager: Lee Richardson Position last season: 8th Form Guide: Andy Scott believes Chesterfield - who finished one place outside the play-offs last season - will be under a bit of pressure to win on Saturday following successive defeats at Dagenham (0-3) and Rochdale (1-2) last weekend.At home, the only victory so far came against Rotherham (1-0), while there have been losses to Bury (1-3) and Wycombe (0-1). Championship Preston put them out of the Carling Cup at Deepdale (0-2).
Players to look out for: Midfielder Darren Currie, 34 in November, may be nearing the end of his career,but he is still a danger on his day. Son of former QPR favourite Tony Currie, he is now with his 12th club, having also played for Derby,Coventry and Ipswich.
Most recent meetings: Chesterfield 1-0 Brentford (23 Feb 2008); Brentford 2-1 Chesterfield (12 Jan 2008) - Lg2. Head-to-head record: CFC Wins: 19 BEES Wins: 28 Draws: 19
Match Facts: The Bees have been beaten on their last two visits to the Spireites, but were 3-1 winners when they visited three years ago and have won on four of the past seven trips to Chesterfield. The Bees have the upper hand over 66 meetings but only twice hit four goals. Chesterfield have managed that feat only once - way back on 1947 in the first ever meeting between the clubs.
Forecast: A tough one to predict. If the Bees play to their potential, they would expect to claim a second away win of the season - but they may have to settle for another point.
Gazette forecast success rate: 5 correct out of 8 (63%)
