KARLEIGH Osborne insists he is fully committed to Brentford and has refused to rule out staying at Griffin Park beyond the end of the season.
The centre-back, who has made more than 150 appearances for the Bees after coming through the youth system, has turned down an improved deal at the club and is widely expected to quit TW8 when his contract expires in the summer.
Osborne saw a January move to Championship side Reading go down the pan due to doubts over the defender's fitness.
The 23-year-old admits he's still desperate to test himself at a higher level, but hopes he can still do it with Brentford.
He said: “It would've been a nice move [to Reading] if it happened but it wasn't meant to be unfortunately. My focus now is on Brentford and doing well until the end of the season.
“I want to play games and hopefully help the club push on and reach the play-offs. Brentford is my first club and I am loyal to them, although it might not seem like that.
“My aim is to play at the highest level I can and if I get the opportunity to play in the Championship I want to do that.
“Every footballer has to be ambitious, and if they don't they're probably in the wrong profession.
“There's a chance [I could stay] - I would love to play in the Championship with Brentford. Things can change in football pretty quickly. I need to prove I'm still a good player at this level.”
Osborne has not featured for the first-team since suffering a foot injury in the home defeat to Stevenage back in October.
However, he stepped up his recovery with a run-out for the development squad against Cambridge this week.
“It's been hard,” he added. “I had one injury and was recovering well but picked up another one which put me back again.
“It's partly my fault for trying to play through it when I should've rested it but that's football. I need to take my time because I don't want to break down again.”
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