Dean Holdsworth said he was “very honoured” to have been inducted in to the Brentford FC Hall of Fame.
The striker was at The Big Red Ball on Sunday, the Club’s end-of-season dinner and awards presentation, and was named as the fifth member of the Hall of Fame.
Dean joined Brentford on loan from Watford in 1988 before signing on a permanent basis for The Bees the following year.
He scored 38 goals in the 1991/92 season when Brentford won the 1991/92 Barclays Division Three championship.
In total, before he was sold to Wimbledon for a Club Record fee in the summer of 1992, Dean scored 76 goals in 145 games for The Bees.
Dean was with four other members of the 1991/92 squad – Jamie Bates, Graham Benstead, Terry Evans and Marcus Gayle – at The Big Red Ball and said he had enjoyed the reunion.
“I am very humble and proud and very honoured to be here,” he said.
“I had no idea this was going to happen.
“I have been sat with some of my ex-team mates tonight and we have had a real laugh.
“We have tried not to throw anything at Graham Benstead; he’d dive over it or drop it.
“We have had a great night and we can see success is around the corner for this Football Club.
Dean joins Phil Holder, who was Brentford Manager during the 1991/92 season, and Malcolm McDonald, who played for and managed The Bees in the Hall of Fame.
The other two in the Club’s Hall of Fame are two men who were part of the Brentford team that won the 1942 London War Cup at Wembley – Joe James, who played at centre half during the Club’s 1930s heyday, and Idris ‘Dai’ Hopkins, who ended his career as Brentford’s most capped player, having played 12 times for Wales, and scored 80 goals in 314 games for The Bees, as well as many more in Wartime football.
The Big Red Ball came the day after Brentford had narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to The Championship.
Defeat against Doncaster Rovers on Saturday meant The Bees finished third in npower League One and will go in to the Play-Offs.
They still have a chance of promotion from the third tier for only the third time in the Club’s history and Dean had a message for the current players.
He said it was “fate” that The Bees would win the League One Play-Off Final this season.
“This club is built on success it is driven by success and I wish all the players here tonight all the best,” said Dean.
“There is no disappointment; you are where you are for a reason.
“Fate is there for this team to win at Wembley.
“Enjoy the night.
“As players, drive for more; want success for yourselves and for each other, for your families, for your Manager, for the owner.
“Want more, because more is better.
“I wish you all the very best.”
Dean’s speech can be seen here by Bees Player subscribers.