Brentford midfielder Jonathan Douglas is desperate to avoid a repeat of the heartbreak that saw him relegated from the Championship with Leeds United earlier in his career.
The Irishman was part of the Leeds side which suffered the drop down to League One in 2007 – just 12 months after losing a play-off final that saw Watford promoted to the top flight at their expense.
Douglas will get another crack at the Championship this season with the Bees, and is determined not to have another relegation on his CV.
He said: “I played at that level with Leeds a few years ago. Nobody likes to go down, especially considering the year before that we got beaten in the play-off final.
“To go from being 90 minutes away from getting into the Premier League to relegation the following season was a lesson.
“We didn’t add to the squad we already had and lost a few players, so hopefully we can give it a good go here.”
Douglas is one of only a handful of Brentford players with experience of playing in England’s second tier.
And the 32-year-old has warned the Bees will be punished for their mistakes if they are below their best.
“It’s a very tough league, as was League One,” he said. “There’s some big clubs that have come down and struggled to go straight back up.
“The way we played the majority of the season I think we would do pretty well. But if we aren’t at our best it will be a long, hard year for us because it’s a punishing division.”
