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 members of the squad and staff to discover the secrets of a successful season. Next up is midfielder Jake Reeves, who made 20 appearances for the side that term.

Any promotion in football requires a collective effort. 10 months of hard graft, togetherness and a goal that unifies the squad. It is a team sport, so that goes without saying, in all honesty.

Yet everyone’s experience is unique. Different in its own way - and not always for the better.

Jake Reeves joined Brentford from Tottenham Hotspur as a 15 year old and was given his debut at 17 by Nicky Forster on the final day of the 2010/11 season.

That summer, he signed a two-year contract and became part of the first team under Uwe Rösler, who described the teenager as a “big option” in the Bees’ midfield ranks.

Reeves - who is now 30 and captain of AFC Wimbledon - was struck by the way the German had such a significant impact around the club.

“He is a winner, and you could see that differ from where the club had been over the previous few seasons,” he explains.

“Where he played at a very high level in his own career, the demands and the standards he expected of us in training every day completely changed, even to the point of coming in on Sundays. It was usually a recovery day but, instead of just being at home, he’d bring us in to go to the gym.

“He changed the culture of the club very quickly and did it successfully as well.

“He is a very respectful man and, every morning, he wouldn’t address the whole squad in the team meeting until he had shaken every single person’s hand in the building.

“If he started the meeting and realised he hadn’t shaken your hand, he’d stop the meeting, shake your hand and then start up again.

“On a personal level, we got on really well, too. When he came in, I played the first five games in a row when I was 18, then he pulled me out for various reasons.”

Reeves played a bit-part role in 2011/12 and 2012/13, playing 26 times across the two campaigns, and was rewarded with a second two-year deal in the summer of 2013. “There is still more to come from him,” said Rösler when the contract extension was announced.

“He is still a very young player and has the potential to be even better. Jake is a player with a great attitude, good technical ability and understanding of the game. I look forward to working with him over the next few years.”

“When you sign a deal, you obviously want to kick on,” says Reeves. “I played a half-decent amount of matches the season before, so the idea was to get my nut down for the next season and get a more regular starting place.

“There was never too much conversation about the way the previous year ended. Everyone was very disappointed, gutted in fact - and rightly so.

“There was always a sense it had been a missed opportunity, but knowing the club and how well it was run, we always knew more signings would be made to give that fresh feel to the new squad to pick up where we left off and try and go one better.”

Though he started in three cup games over the first two months, it was not until September he earned his first start in League One - a 4-0 defeat at Bradford. After a late cameo at Coventry three weeks later, he did not feature for another five weeks.

As a result, the majority of his game time came in the development squad. It was not forced upon him; he played of his own volition.

“I always felt ready to play,” Reeves continues. “I was in the first-team dressing room and trained with them every day but, where I wasn’t getting minutes, I asked to play in those games because I knew I needed to be fit.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was frustrating, but the group we were lucky to have had very talented players and very talented midfield players, so it is what it is.

“When players who’ve played at higher levels come down and come into the first team, they are going to play and you just have to bide your time and, whenever you do get an opportunity, just play well. That’s all you can do, really.

“Whether the coaching staff looked into that too much, I’m not too sure. My mindset was that, if I was going to play in League One and get an opportunity, I needed to be as sharp and as fit as I could be with actual football minutes, not just training minutes.

“Whenever there was an opportunity, I’d always ask to play. Half of the lads I knew as I’d come through the system with them, so it was always like playing with your mates and was quite nice to do both.”

In the October, Reeves was made available for loan. “Again, it was from my own asking as I felt my season was being wasted and maybe I should have gone on loan and got a full season under my belt,” he adds.

However, a move away did not materialise and he made two more appearances - one of which was the 5-0 FA Cup win over Staines, where he scored his first professional goal - before Rösler’s shock departure to Wigan Athletic at the start of December.

“We had Carlisle away and, when we woke up in the hotel for our normal breakfast and meeting routine before travelling to the game, he called a meeting, told us he was leaving and that he wouldn’t be taking the game,” Reeves recalls.

“He broke down and cried, gave everyone a cuddle and we all wished him well and that was it. There were rumours here and there, but it was all very quick in the end.

“When Mark Warburton took over, he had been with Nicky Forster the season before Rösler had even come in, so he already knew pretty much half of the team anyway, then we’d always see him around and he’d always talk to people.

“The good thing about that was that it was an easier transition than getting another manager in who didn’t know anyone and maybe wanted to implement his own ideas. Warbs had his own ideas as well, but the bulk of what we did stayed the same. He basically came in and kept everything ticking over, which was perfect for what we needed at the time.”

Warburton brought Reeves back into the fold on a more regular basis too, and he played 13 league games in the second half of the season, including five times from the start.

With the way momentum and the possibility of promotion was building, it was an ideal learning experience for the 19-year-old midfielder.

“With your first promotion, you’re riding the wave and don’t really know what’s going on. Maybe there are older lads in the team who’ve had promotions who will take the reins, who you can follow and learn as much as you can from; Tony Craig, Clayton Donaldson, Alan McCormack - I could keep going, there’s loads.

“For the younger lads to see them day to day, they’d almost go even harder in training. It was a massive learning curve and something I’ve certainly used in the other promotions I’ve managed to get.

“The momentum definitely helped, certainly more so than having a blip and trying to get out of that or looking around your shoulder.

“As much as it’s quite cliché to say you take things game by game, it literally was everyone focusing on the next game. We knew we could beat anyone and go and do the job playing how we wanted to, with our personality. I think that showed.”

Reeves started the win over Stevenage on the final day and, as it turned out, that game was poignant - it was the final time he would pull on the red and white stripes.

“We were already promoted, waiting for the trophy and to celebrate with the fans. It was almost like a different atmosphere as the fans were relaxed, it was already done and they were just there to enjoy the day and have fun.

“To play on Kevin O’Connor’s 500th game, given how important he had been for me, and to get an assist for Alan Judge made it a very special day.”

Reeves remained in the squad through pre-season and at the start of 2014/15, but Warburton did not name him in the matchday squad once during the first month of the season. He knew he needed to move on.

“When I look back, it wasn’t a bad way to go out. It wasn’t my plan to leave when I did, but it just worked out and happened that way.

“I was the 19th man against Bournemouth away on the second weekend of the season and then leaving came about quite quickly after that. I made 25 appearances the year we got promoted, which is not bad for that age with that group we had, and I wanted to kick on and play as high as I could in the game, but I needed regular games.

“It became quite apparent that it wasn’t going to happen when I came back for pre-season, with certain signings that were made and how many bodies were in the building.

“Maybe if I’d stayed it might have worked out differently, but I needed to make my own career at that point and get minutes, because I probably didn’t have as many as I should have had, given I made my debut at 17.

“Another season of one half here, one half there wasn’t going to be any good for my development.”

Fortunately, the relationship between the two parties was not soured as a result.

“It was completely amicable,” he reveals. “I hadn’t signed a new deal too long before that and I don’t think they were wanting or expecting me to leave, but I had a year left and if I didn’t play any games that year, where was I going to go after that if they didn’t offer me another contract?

“I needed to take that step myself. The conversation with Warbs was completely amicable, I gave my reasoning behind it and the club was going from strength to strength anyway, so we parted on good terms.”

It only served to propel Reeves on to new beginnings and, in the nine years since he left, he has made 315 appearances in all competitions for Swindon, AFC Wimbledon, Bradford, Notts County and Stevenage.

He hasn’t forgotten his roots, having been part of the squad that started Brentford’s rise from the third tier all the way to the Premier League today.

“I loved it there. I came in as a 15-year-old boy with Darren Sarll and saw the club evolve into the Rösler era and how things changed behind the scenes from a 4-4-2 team that kicked it long to a team that played attractive football with three in the middle and three up front at times.

“It’s a brilliant club with brilliant people behind the scenes and I wish them all the best. It’s no surprise they are doing so well now.”