In 2013/14, Brentford finished runners-up in League One. It was the Bees’ first promotion to the second tier in more than 20 years and marked the beginning of the club’s eventual rise to the Premier League.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Brentford’s 2013/14 promotion-winning campaign, we’re speaking with the key members of the squad and staff to discover the secrets of a successful season.

Next up is former Bees striker Clayton Donaldson, who finished his time at the club with 53 goals and 28 assists in 155 games in all competitions - helped by his work with former Manchester City centre-forward Uwe Rösler during his time in west London.

A player who works under a manager who played in their position during their own playing career has the opportunity to act as a sponge to soak up all of the valuable knowledge, nous, and know-how that will benefit their own game.

If they played at the top, it is a massive bonus.

And that was one of the main factors that convinced Clayton Donaldson to leave Crewe Alexandra and sign a three-year deal with Brentford in the summer of 2011: the opportunity to work with former Manchester City and East Germany striker Rösler.

“I’d watched him play for Man City in the Premier League and he was a great striker,” Donaldson explains.

“It was a no-brainer for me because Uwe ticked all the boxes. It was great for me to be able to get advice and learn from him.

"He taught me so much and improved my game, which helped me progress in my football career. He gave me so many ideas and tips on how to help my game.”

Even a decade on, it is not just a case of Donaldson remembering the good times and subconsciously blocking out the bad. He had done well in League Two but, at Brentford, he reached his prime.

In 2011/12, he scored 11 goals and assisted 15 more in all competitions and, in 2012/13, he scored 24 goals and assisted eight more. “The second year was great for me personally, but it would have been even better if we got promoted,” he says.

He picked up where he left off in 2013/14 and had scored 10 in 20 games by the end of November 2013, which is a figure made more impressive when you consider his versatility meant he often played on one flank or the other in a 4-3-3 formation, not solely as a no.9.

“You are always judged by your goals as a striker, so you always want to try and hit the ground running,” Donaldson continues.

“Having scored 24 goals in the previous season, everyone was looking at me to be the one to help us get up the league again, so to start the season well and get some goals under my belt was great for my confidence.

“I thrive on being reliable. I was a very fit lad and hardly ever injured; if I did have a knock, I’d play through it. I was one of those types of players who would just always give 100 per cent.

“I’ve got natural fitness but I would always do extra bits after training to keep those levels up. I always did my gym work as natural fitness doesn’t always cut the mustard; you have to top it up now and again.”

Having played well over 200 games and scored over 50 goals since then, asking Donaldson to pin down memories of exact goals is, understandably, a hard ask.

But there are two games he can recall: “I remember the away game at Bradford. It was a wild game. I’m from Bradford and I knew a few players that played for them as well, so that was one I was looking forward to - and we ended up losing 4-0.

“That was devastating at my hometown club when I wanted to impress and do well. I didn’t live it down for a long time!

“We got one back over them at home and that’s a game I remember fondly. I scored the first goal that day, so redeemed myself and my reputation in front of my friends!”

There was brief uncertainty around the club when Rösler departed for Wigan in December 2013, yet, when Mark Warburton replaced him, as he had done after the disappointment of the season prior, Donaldson hit the ground running with four goals and three assists in his first seven.

“He was a very attack-minded manager,” Donaldson states. “His philosophy was that attacking was the best form of defending, really. He was a football man who wanted to play in the right way.

“All of his training methods, his drills were out of this world, and you could see the knowledge he had. Mostly, he wanted more football. We always played good football under Uwe anyway, but Mark wanted more.

“That was good to hear because everyone wants to play football in that kind of way and, with the squad we had, we were capable of doing that.

“We were always on the front foot and he would gamble and push players forward because he saw that as the only way to go into games. It was an exciting style of play that everyone took to, including the fans. It was the right change at the right time that pushed us on even further.”

Donaldson ended the season with 18 goals and five assists, taking his total in three seasons to 53 goals and 28 assists in 155 games in all competitions.

He featured in every one of the 46 League One games and only failed to complete 90 minutes on three occasions, so it goes without saying that his contribution to promotion was enormous.

“It was like a weight off my chest,” Donaldson says. “When Brentford signed me, they had a plan to get into the Championship and, having never played there, that was one of my targets for my career.

“To get there and to play a big part was a great feeling. It was overwhelming, given what we did the year before, and doing it with a few games to spare gave us time to sit down and reflect. We had a target and we hit it.

“It was something the fans had been waiting for for a good few years, and to give that to them was great.”

In the lead-up to promotion, Warburton had told the press the club would offer Donaldson a new contract. “I hope we can wrap up Clayton’s future quickly,” he said.

But, come the end of the season, the final days of the three-year deal he signed in 2011 were ticking away and there was no sign of a resolution.

“I was offered a contract, but not until after the season had finished,” he reveals. “I don’t think they thought I was going to sign anyway. I did feel wanted, but it felt as though something was changing, a new dynamic. Then Birmingham came in.

“My agent told the club I was going to sign for them and I don’t think Matthew Benham knew; something got offered, but there were no negotiations and it just got left. Matthew didn’t actually know this and thought it was all going to be sorted, but I was in advanced talks with Birmingham, to the point where everything was almost finalised.

“After verbally agreeing a contract, that’s my word, so I wouldn’t go back on that. It was too late.”

Looking back, does he wish he would have stayed in west London?

“If they had acted in good time, I probably would have stayed,” he responds. “But, for me, things are written and planned out for you, so it was probably meant to be that I was going to join Birmingham. I try to look at the positives in situations.

“I left Brentford with good memories, so it probably was the right time to leave. We set out goals and achieved them in the timeframe we agreed we were going to do it. It was the ideal way to sign off.”

Over the next five seasons, Donaldson featured seven times against the Bees, and scored on two occasions for Birmingham at Griffin Park. The celebrations were muted and he maintained his relationship with the home fans as a result.

“I got a great reception from the fans,” he adds. “They sung my song at each game and it was nice to see their appreciation, which every player loves.

“You want to try and leave a positive mark at your previous clubs and that made me realise I left one at Brentford.”

In 2021, Donaldson joined York City. The move meant he would play in non-league for the first time 14 years, which he had last done with… York City.

After a season there, he signed for Gainsborough Trinity of the Northern Premier League and, after a season there, last summer, he was appointed player-manager at Farsley Celtic, who are based between Leeds and Bradford and play in the National League North.

“It’s the first year of my managerial career, which I’m thoroughly enjoying,” he says. “It’s something I always wanted to get into after football.

“For so many years I’ve just focused on myself. Now I’ve got to focus on myself, the players, my staff, the club, so there are a lot more responsibilities. It’s a change but transitioning slowly has probably massively helped me.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of players and they’ve said the player-manager role is the hardest thing and I can see how it would be. People are looking at you as a player and a manager so your performances have got to be near enough 10/10.

“I’ve got a sporting director who does all the ins and outs behind the scenes. That’s a massive help because he takes all the phone calls away from me so I’m able to focus on the football side.

“It was a big test for me to have people writing us off straight away before the season had even started, but we started well, went seven games unbeaten, and climbed up the league.

“We’ve got one of the lowest budgets in the league and now we’re closer to the play-offs than we are to relegation, so we’ve had a really good season and long may that continue.”

Donaldson turns 40 on 7 February - but he has no immediate plans to hang up his boots, despite his newfound responsibilities.

“There’s still life in the legs,” he smiles. “I do still want to transition to the touchline, but my performance levels and what I’m doing for the team are still up there, so there’s no point ruining that.

“I’ve got to try and find that balance. It’s hard for me to think about knocking it on the head any time soon.”