Brentford went 9th after a 3-0 win away to Wigan in the Championship at the weekend - Thomas Frank’s side going into the top ten for the first time this season before the international break.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo, Kamohelo Mokotjo and Josh Dasilva gave Brentford a fine 3-0 win at Wigan’s DW Stadium, and their third successive win on the road.

A fourth win in five in the Championship, Brentford leapfrogged their West London neighbours QPR with the win, and sit 9th in the table before the November break - four points off Bristol City in 6th.

It’s been a hasty turnaround for Thomas Frank at Brentford. His first full-season in charge at Griffin Park was fairly dismal up until October, and some fans were calling for his departure earlier in the campaign.

Now though, times are better at Brentford and the future under Frank looks bright. But how’s he turned his season around?

Frank has made two tactical masterstrokes this season, the first being with Ollie Watkins. When Neal Maupay left in the summer, Brentford used the money to bring in a host of fresh faces.

The likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Pontus Jansson and David Raya arrived at the club for undisclosed fees, but aside from Mbeumo who scored 10 goals in Ligue 2 last season, they didn’t have an out-and-out goal-scorer in their team.

Instead of replacing Maupay’s goals with a marquee summer signing, Frank has deployed Watkins down the middle of a front-three, coming in from the wing.

The move has since paid huge dividends and Watkins has already equalled his return from his first two seasons at the club, with 10 in 16 Championship games already. He’s on track to better Maupay’s tally of 25 last season, and has his manager to thank.

[freshpress-poll ]

The second change from Frank came a bit later into the season. Brentford lined-up in a 3-4-3 formation for the opening games, before changing to a 4-3-3 for the win at Barnsley at the end of September.

In the eight games before the change to 4-3-3, Brentford picked up eight points - in the eight games since the change, Brentford have picked up 16 points.

Everything is rosy for the Bees right now, and Frank is everyone’s favourite person at Griffin Park. He’s proving that he has the tactical know-how to take Brentford forward and if his side’s form continues until May, they’ll be in for an unlikely shot at promotion.