In 2013/14, Brentford finished runners-up in League One. It was the Bees’ first promotion to the second tier in more than 20 years and marked the beginning of the club’s eventual rise to the Premier League.

To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Brentford’s 2013/14 promotion-winning campaign, we’re speaking with the key members of the squad and staff to discover the secrets of a successful season.

Next up is former midfielder Jonathan Douglas, who looks back on some memorable moments, including the manner in which he and his team-mates celebrated promotion at the Lord Nelson pub.

In August 2013, for the first time in three seasons, Brentford started their League One campaign without the ever-industrious Jonathan Douglas anchoring the midfield.

The tough-tackling Irishman had appeared in all but two of the Bees’ league matches across his first two seasons in west London, so this absence was unheard of.

All Brentford fans will be familiar with the gut-wrenching manner in which an otherwise magnificent 2012/13 had ended - and with injury keeping Douglas sidelined for an extended period, he had more time than most to dwell upon it.

When the season began, he was simply itching to get back to help put thing right.

“It was difficult,” he explains. “I don’t like watching football as it is - unless I have to watch it!

“I had a knee injury - a little bit of a cartilage issue - and there were a couple of other little bits and pieces that I needed to get right, though I knew it was nothing serious.

“We were all stunned after the Doncaster game. We knew we should have beaten them, we knew we had an opportunity to get promoted and it was just one of those things, unfortunately.

"We bounced back well to get to the final when a lot of teams might have crumbled and we proved we were still a good side. The final against Yeovil just wasn’t to be.

“We knew it would only be a matter of time before the team would gel again, but when you feel like you should be playing, it’s probably 10 times worse because there’s nothing you can do about it but sit there and hope for the best.”

He was back in the fold by October and returned in the 2-1 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy defeat at Peterborough United, before making his first league start in five months at Stevenage on 12 October, by which point Brentford were languishing in mid-table after a run of four defeats in six games.

Former Bees manager Uwe Rösler spoke about the famous lock-in at the Lamex Stadium in the first instalment of On the Rise - and Douglas echoed the German’s statement that the open and honest conversation that took place had exactly the desired effect.

“It was brilliant," he says. "We needed something like that, a little kick up the a**e, just to get everything going. It was an open and honest dressing room that day and everybody had their say.

“A hangover was to be expected. You have hopes and dreams of starting the season well, but maybe you’re still lacking confidence or are still a little bit down about it as four or five weeks probably isn’t enough time to get over it. I knew we had a good squad and a good manager.

“Not everybody was happy as we didn’t start the way we wanted to, but it was an interesting conversation. At the end of the day, it got us going and we went on a decent run after that.

“It was definitely a relief for everyone to get something off their chests. Sometimes people can’t take the honesty but, in that dressing room, we had some big characters who could take it on the chin. That’s something we needed.

“It’s something fans still come up to me and ask me about, so it was obviously very important for us!”

Douglas - one of Rösler’s first signings in the summer of 2011 - says it was “a shock” when the manager left for Wigan Athletic out of the blue in December 2013.

“We must’ve been doing well for him to get linked to a Championship club,” the 41-year-old says.

“That’s football; if your manager is doing well, he’s going to attract attention from others. It’s the same with players and the January transfer window.

“I got on pretty well with him. If you’ve ever met Uwe Rösler, you’ll know he’s a pretty intense guy and that showed in the way we trained and the way we played as well.

"Sometimes, two strong characters bang heads and we wouldn’t agree on everything, but I have the utmost respect for him and I really liked playing under him. He got me ticking and playing well.

“It was good that Mark Warburton took over from him because he was the sporting director at the time, so would have been involved in bringing me and most of the players in.

“He knew us and what type of players we were whereas sometimes, if a manager leaves and takes his backroom staff, it can be a little bit difficult to catch up with things.

"We could have ended up losing a few games and slipping down, but I think it was a great appointment by Matthew Benham and whoever made the decision. Everyone knew [Warburton] and respected him, so it was a no-brainer.”

Over the last few years, our History Boys series have covered the 1991/92 and 2008/09 promotion seasons. It may seem obvious, but almost every single player interviewed has made it clear that any potential success hinges on team spirit and dressing room atmosphere.

It goes without saying that this squad had that in abundance.

“The dressing room is worth so many points to you,” Douglas adds. “Sometimes you might not be playing too well, but one of your mates pulls you up out of the fire. And we pulled each other through.

“We’re still very good mates now and it’s 10 years on. We met up a few months ago, myself, Macca [Alan McCormack], Judgey [Alan Judge], Harlee [Dean] and Saunds [Sam Saunders] and we still get on really well.

“I think if you spoke to anybody from that squad, they’d say it was the best dressing room. It was definitely mine anyway.

“It’s a massive factor. Your dressing room has to be spot on - and that seems to have carried on even to now under Thomas Frank, so it’s no surprise they are doing well now.”

Douglas played a further 34 games in League One after his delayed start to the season and, in this interview, highlights two memorable games in particular.

“The 1-0 win at Leyton Orient was massive for us. We knew they were going well and that we needed to win, too. We probably got a bit of luck for the goal, with Adam and Macca, then Trotts [Marcello Trotta] - the unlucky one from the previous season - came up with a great goal.

“He needs great respect to have come back after what happened. I don’t think too many players would have come back after that situation, but he wanted to right the wrongs and he was great for us.

“Tarky [James Tarkowski] got sent off and then we went down to 10 men, so we were hanging on. Their manager had a slight dig at us afterwards, so we knew it was massive. I think our celebrations just proved that.

“The end of the Preston game was mad. Then some people were saying it wasn’t over in Wolves game yet, so we didn’t know. There were still hundreds of fans on the pitch celebrating. You want to celebrate, but you also don’t want to look foolish if the result doesn’t go your way.

“We all went into the dressing room and listened to the other game, then the result came in, which was amazing for us, especially after the season before. It was fantastic for ‘little old Brentford’, as we were called. I think we were in a better position than the previous season to go up.”

It is not quite the same these days, but in years gone by, promotion celebrations meant players and fans coming together in a nearby pub to celebrate.

“The celebrations were great. We all packed into the Lord Nelson, which was near where me and Saunds used to live together,” Douglas recalls fondly.

“We were planning on going there for a couple of drinks, but then the word got out on social media that we were all there, so it ended up being a great night to cap a great day. The owner was very happy - I think he ran out of drink at one stage! We spoke to him in the morning and had a few bills to pay but he said not to worry about it, which was nice.

“For us to get to the Championship when everybody said we couldn’t do it, I think it was only right we shared a few beers.”

Following the Preston game, Brentford drew 2-2 with MK Dons on Easter Monday and suffered a shock 4-1 defeat at Colchester United five days later.

Douglas admits he and his team-mate perhaps took their foot off the gas a little too prematurely.

“I think we probably did - half of us were probably still a little bit drunk from the celebrations!

“To be fair to Warbs, he was on us all the time to try to get better and see out the season well, but it was very difficult. We’d put everything into it. Your body is tired, you’re taking injections, you’re taking tablets to try and get through games and we did take our eyes off the ball because we achieved something we wanted to achieve.

“We probably should’ve won our last few games, but, at the end of the day, we got to where we wanted to be. It was to be expected. If we could have caught Wolves, we probably would have decided to go for it, but I think they were a little bit too far ahead.”

Brentford did sign off with a 2-0 win over Stevenage, though - and the irony is not lost on Douglas.

“It’s funny how it all worked out. You have a lock-in for over an hour after the previous meeting, with shouting and screaming at one another, then you’re celebrating at the end of the season, which is a nice way to do it.

“To see King Kev play his 500th game and gain another promotion just topped it off. I have huge respect for him - he was unbelievable from the first moment I stepped through the door.

“It was just a fantastic season. We worked so hard. I’ve been in good teams, but not quite gotten over the final hurdle. You play 40-odd games and you miss out and it feels like it’s all been a waste of time.

“It was just very special to have something to celebrate at the end of it all.”