The word standards is a term which can be interpreted in various ways by different people. Every young player wants to reach the highest standard of football that they can in their career. Ivan Toney slotting home from the penalty spot may be considered a standard practice since his arrival in West London. But to a B Team player who is starting their journey in professional football, what does the word standards mean?

“Standards are what you ask of yourself and what you ask of other people. I’m someone who sets high standards, even on the small things.” Max Dickov is a player who has had to maintain his standards since he first arrived on trial with Neil MacFarlane’s side last season.

The hard work, his contributions on the pitch and off it saw the youngster earn his first professional deal with the Bees in the summer. Maintaining an attitude where even the small things are important is something that Max believes will make a difference to a career.

“You don’t leave the pitch untidy; you leave the dressing rooms clean,” explained Max. “I feel that all the small things like that contribute to the larger picture. If you keep your standards high, then your performances are going to be high too. Doing that extra little bit to contribute, even when you don’t need to. They’re the fine details which can make you have a career, and that is what’s so good about this team. A lot of us are setting those high standards. It means a lot to me.

“It’s the one thing that my parents have engrained into me. No matter what day it is, whether it’s going good or bad, you just have to give your all because you never know what day in whatever work place is going to be your last. We know how cutthroat football is so you have to leave everything out on the pitch, you could get an injury and that could be it. It’s about what I ask of myself every day, the standards and the morals that I set for myself, and try to set for my teammates.”

The son of former Premier League forward, Paul, Max’s football career to get to Brentford is not a traditional Academy route. There were options on the table around scholarship age but the youngster, along with the help of his dad, decided on an educational route where he could play men’s football at weekends.

“It all started in Saturday league and when I was around the age of seven my brother and I got asked to go into Man City at the same time,” explained Max. “I was there for a relatively short period of time and then I went to Oldham. Even at City and Oldham I would still go and play for my local team or my school. I left Oldham and stayed with my Saturday league team at the age of 11.

Max joined the Bees in the summer of 2022

“The majority of my football after I left Oldham came with my school and we were fortunate to have a very good team. I went back to there in 2015 for a period and was then let go again. I was there for a season and got to a stage where they started to offer scholarships, but it didn’t materialise for me. At 16 I was then offered a couple of opportunities to do scholarships elsewhere, but after previous experiences we (Max and his dad) made the decision to play men’s football at a lower level. At the time I didn’t completely agree with the decision because when you’re younger you want to play for the biggest name possible because it makes you feel good and look better.”

Having gone down the educational route to study A-Levels in Business, Drama and Product Design, Max was thriving on the pitch as he learned how to play against physical styles in the lower leagues in Manchester before he began to work his way up.

He continued: “I started to play for a team called Poynton up in Manchester which was my brother’s team. From there I started to climb the ladder and after a season there I moved on to Stockport Town. It wasn’t easy because I would play against 30-year-olds who had been in those leagues for a long time and were experienced. They used to say a lot of things to me that I probably can’t repeat! They would know who my dad was, and because I was playing in Manchester, we all know the divide between City and United. I could instantly tell who supported who. If there was an injury or a corner people would ask if my dad was watching, and they’d ask if they could catch him after the game. On the flip side, the United fans would let me know that they were going to try and stick one on me.

“My dad has never put pressure on me to play to a particular level. He would say to all of us kids that he just wanted us to do our best in whatever we chose to do. I wanted to work my way up, and if an opportunity arose then we would assess it. I just wanted to focus on trying to make a name for myself in the lower leagues. After my first season with Stockport there was interest from a few teams higher up and I went into a few clubs, as well as one in the Football League.”

Growing up in a family where Max’s dad turned out for the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Leicester City saw the youngster have an exciting childhood with some memorable experiences, and he will be the first to admit that he has been fortunate. Something he’s incredibly thankful for as he has a large family support network.

He explained: “When I was born my dad was playing for Leicester but my earliest memories of football are of him playing for Blackburn. I remember going to Ewood Park and watching him play. When you’re brought up in it you know that your dad plays football and when you’re young you don’t really understand how good you have to be to make it. When you watch him back and see some of the things he did in big games you can see that he was decent on his day!

“My family is very close, every day I’m on Facetime to my mum, dad, brother and sister for ages. I love being at home around the family. My upbringing was different to a lot of other people because when your dad is in that environment it’s naturally a bit different. It’s a bubbly household. I’m very lucky to have the upbringing and the life that I’ve had so far and I’m very grateful for that. Even the small things, I’m massively grateful for. I’ve had some great memories with my family.”

Growing up in the North West saw Max attend school with former B Team player Max Haygarth. The winger went on to make his First Team debut for the Bees after joining from Manchester United before departing in the summer. Max believes he owes a great deal to one of his best friends growing up as he helped him to settle whilst on trial. “Max and I went to the same school together, from year seven up to year 11. It’s quite funny because, as much as we’re best mates now, we didn’t actually get along early on!” said Max. “In year nine we started to get closer and became really good friends. We’ve been best mates ever since. He signed here and told me how great it was, and of course Steven Pressley is here, who played alongside my dad.

Max Dickov and Max Haygarth in training with the B Team

“One thing led to another and I was able to come down on trial last season and I’ve been here ever since. I owe Max a lot. When I was down here last season I lived with him and he helped me settle here. It shows what sort of person he is, he wanted me to do well as a footballer but more importantly as a friend too. I was at his house and as soon as my dad phoned me Max was looking at me with a smile and I think he knew what I was going to tell him that I’d been offered a contract. He was over the moon.”

So, what does Max think of things on the pitch so far this season? The young Bees have steadily picked up momentum and have pulled off some positive results against the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Bournemouth Under-21s in recent weeks.

“It’s really good,” said Max. “We’ve got a real together group this year, I think all the staff can sense it and there is a nice atmosphere. We all get on and we all believe in the same project. A lot of the boys are in similar positions, there are lots of new players who have things to prove. We train and play like every day is our last and to see everyone in the same head space is great. As much as it is a team sport, it’s also a very individual sport where it’s your career so you need to do the best you can to put yourself in the best position. This team is helping each other do that, we look out for each other, we want the best for each other so we have a very good balance.

Max netted in the side's win at Crewe recently

“The togetherness that we have is really showing on the pitch. Players are fighting and running for each other, and I think that especially for a team which is new, it took some time at the start of the season for things to gel. Now we’re really starting to see things clicking together. There is still a lot more to come because we’re still early in the season but the run we’ve been on shows how much hard work we put in and how much we’ve developed so far.”

With Max one of the more senior players in the B Team amongst a young group, it’s clear that with his mentality and that word again, standards, the young Bees are in a good place for a season of more development as each and every player does all they can to push towards that First Team group.