Brentford Assistant Manager David Weir said the memory of defeat to Huddersfield Town in December and not wanting to lose twice to the same team will drive The Bees on when they face the Yorkshire side again this evening.
The Bees were beaten 2-1 in Yorkshire in December, conceding a goal in each half and being unable to come back from 2-0 down despite a Jonathan Douglas goal.
The teams meet again at Griffin Park tonight, Tuesday March 3, and David, speaking to Bees Player yesterday, said The Bees would need to play better.
He said Huddersfield would come to Griffin Park and look to put in to action a plan to complete a Sky Bet Championship double.
“Not being beaten twice is a motivation for us,” said David.
“We lost to Huddersfield up there, on the day we weren’t particularly good.
“We need to address that; we need to be better than we were up there.
“They will look at us, think of last time and think how they can beat us again.
“We don’t like to lose home and away against any team.”
Brentford won two home games in four days last week – against AFC Bournemouth and Blackpool – but lost last time out, to Birmingham City on Saturday, February 28.
A James Tarkowski own goal was enough to give Birmingham the win and David admitted Brentford were below their best.
He said Birmingham deserved credit for executing their game plan well but there had been conversations about why The Bees had not reached their top level.
“There were a few elements,” said David.
“The pitch was poor and we didn’t perform as well as we have done in recent weeks.
“We look at ourselves first and foremost.
“We have to give Birmingham credit.
“Their game plan was obvious – they sat back, got men behind the ball, made life difficult for us and they hit us on the break.
“To some degree that is a compliment to us.
“We have spoken to the players; we have discussed what we could have done better and the reasons for it.
“We always look at how we can get better.
“We look over the course of a season so we won’t react too drastically either way, positive or negative.”
David said a three-day turnaround to the next game was a challenge but Brentford had things in place to deal with it.
He said the Club’s staff were prepared for the short gap and Brentford FC Owner Matthew Benham also funded good preparation, which helped.
“Midweek games so quickly after are a challenge,” said David.
“But we have good staff to get the players turned around physically.
“Our analysts work hard to prepare information on our next opponents.
“Matthew supports us financially; we travelled by train and were in a good hotel.
“Everything to get the preparation better helps.
“We are fortunate with the resources we have.”
David said Brentford’s only focus would be on themselves.
He said they would assess how they could improve from the Birmingham display and also how they could pose Huddersfield problems.
“Our focus will be on ourselves,” said David.
“We have to address Saturday and thinking what we can do better, we will give Huddersfield respect and think how we can cause problems.
“We will look at how we can make the team better.
“We will be talking about the squad, who needs the rest, do areas need freshening up.
“It is a balance all the time to see what we think is the best team for each game.”
The game will be Brentford’s last scheduled floodlit home match.
“The night time atmosphere at Griffin Park is very good and it does help the players,” said David.
“The feel of the ground, the proximity of the fans and the atmosphere generated makes it a special occasion.
“It is important the players feed off that.
“Our home record has been good, Griffin Park is an advantage and we have to maximise that to stay in the strong position we are in.”
Bees Player subscribers can see a full video interview with David Weir here.