After a somewhat tempestuous start to his Brentford career in which sections of the Bees support called for his head, Dean Smith calmed the storm at Griffin Park and an excellent run in the second half of the season catapulted the club to a respectable tenth placed position.

To say some fans are disappointed with this result is testament to how far the club has come in the past five or so years, and much gratitude must be paid to Bees owner and fan Matthew Benham, who has pumped a lot of his own money into the club.

Brentford’s upturn in form coincidentally coincided with top scorer Scott Hogan departing to Aston Villa in a big money move, but what was not coincidental was the return of Spanish maestro Jota from a loan spell with Eibar, and the permanent signing of former loanee Sergi Canos.

The Spanish pair marked a return to west London with a phenomenal run of form, and with striker Lasse Vibe emerging from the shadow of Hogan, the Dane combined well with the duo to finish on 15 league goals.

This summer will be huge for Smith, who knows he is just a couple of quality signings away from challenging for not only the top six, but the top two.

Shoring up the defence will be paramount to any success the Bees experience next season, as the club host the unwanted record of possessing one of the leakiest defences in the top half.

75 goals at the other end of the field was an impressive return, and had Jota and Canos been with the Bees from August, then who knows how high that total could have been.

Brentford have already confirmed the signings of back up goalkeeper Luke Daniels and Florian Josefzoon, as well as Henrikh Dalsgaard, a versatile player who impressed in the Belgian league last season.

Brentford’s midfield is young and dynamic, with Ryan Woods and Nico Yennaris patrolling the middle of the park, and young Rico Henry should gain more game time this season having struggled with injuries since joining from Walsall last summer.

If Smith adds quality to his defence and adds another striker to the squad to take the load off Vibe, then it will be hard to look past Brentford for a play-off spot.