Michael Spillane says Brentford's ambition persuaded him to leave Norwich City and sign for the League One club.The 21-year-old right-back struggled to establish himself at Carrow Road last season, largely because of a long absence with a hamstring injury and manager Paul Lambert's decision to sign Russell Martin from Peterborough.

Michael Spillane says Brentford's ambition persuaded him to leave Norwich City and sign for the League One club.

The 21-year-old right-back struggled to establish himself at Carrow Road last season, largely because of a long absence with a hamstring injury and manager Paul Lambert's decision to sign Russell Martin from Peterborough.

When the opportunity came for a fresh start, the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international didn't need much persuading.

“I am excited to have signed,” he said. “Brentford have good players and I'm looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“Brentford are a club that are going places and after speaking to Andy Scott I knew Brentford were a good club to come to. They are showing ambition and I wanted to be part of that.

“I'm an East London boy, but have been at Norwich since I was 13 years old. Norwich gave me permission to come and speak to Brentford and after I did, I had nothing on my mind other than signing for the club.

“I'm a passionate player. I like to get forward as much as I can and always want to win. I want to help push Brentford forward.”

Spillane spent the entire 2008-9 season at Luton Town on loan, then made 16 senior appearances for City last season.

“Winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy with Luton Town was a big moment in my short career,” he said. “Winning the league with Norwich was also a good experience for me, but I didn't play as many games as I had hoped due to hamstring injury which ruled me out for four months.

“I played against the Bees a couple of times for Norwich last season and also whilst at Luton. Brentford have always been a good outfit and have always been tough to beat. I know how good they are and this was of course an added attraction to join the club. I was involved in the last game of the season when Brentford collected the league title and the atmosphere at Griffin Park was buzzing, I'm looking forward to playing in front of the fans.”