'Win the league' - Ivan Toney hypes up Brentford's hopes ahead of Premier League opener v Arsenal

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 09/08/2021 at 20:27 GMT

Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and... Brentford? The Premier League new boys' striker Ivan Toney believes that his team have to believe they can win the title if they are to have a chance of surviving comfortably. Toney does not want to just scrape by over the course of the season.

Ivan Toney says that Brentford will aim to win the Premier League.

The 25-year-old striker believes that the club have to aim to win the league rather than temper their ambitions, preferring to fall short of a loftier aim.

Brentford are making their Premier League debut and were last in England’s top tier in 1947. That has not stopped the former Newcastle striker from dreaming big.

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When asked about the club's ambitions for the season, Toney told talkSPORT: “For the club, to win the league.

“We’re not going into the league to try and finish just above the relegation zone, we want to finish as high as possible which is obviously first place.

“But we know it’s going to be a massive ask, it’s going to be a tough one. We’re going to come up against the best players in the world but we’ve just got to focus on what we do best and that’s aggressive football. We have a strong squad so who knows what we can achieve?

“Personally I just want to remain healthy throughout the season, stay focused, get a fair amount of goals and do well for my team.”

Toney is far from convinced that his side will be relegation fodder this year.

“There are always going to be people who expect you to go straight back down just because we’ve never been there,” he said.

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“But we’re hungrier than ever to remain a Premier League club. There are people that will always doubt us but we don’t listen to the haters.”

Brentford will take on Arsenal at the Brentford Community Stadium on Friday evening to open the new Premier League season.

Toney said: “It’s going to be exciting. We shouldn’t get caught in the occasion, we have to concentrate.

“It will be tough and a bit surreal for some players, if not the majority of us, but I feel like we have to stay calm and do what we’ve been working on throughout pre-season.

“I’m sure we’ll be alright. Not just this game but throughout the season.”

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