Brentford Manager Mark Warburton has admitted his side had to achieve promotion in 2013/14, given what had happened in 2012/13.
The Bees finished second in Sky Bet League One in the season that has just finished, clinching promotion to The Championship.
That came a year after they had finished third in League One and lost the Play-Off Final, narrowly missing out on a place in the second tier.
Mark, speaking to Bees Player as part of an extensive end-of-season interview, said given how close Brentford had come – they missed a penalty in stoppage time on the final day of the 2012/13 season against Doncaster Rovers when a goal would have sent them up – they had to do it this time.
He said Club Owner Matthew Benham gave everyone a boost with a speech after the Play-Off Final defeat and the squad set out to achieve the targets.
“Matthew Benham came in and spoke to the players at Wembley about his desire to continue to take the Club forward,” explained Mark.
“That was inspirational for them and good for the staff to hear.
“The work started straight away.
“We wanted to secure the players we wanted to keep, look at areas to strengthen and look to take the Club forward.
“After Wembley we put our heads down, set targets and put the work in to achieve them.
“I think it had to be promotion this season.
“Looking back now I can say that.
“At the time we talked about top six but after what happened – Doncaster and Wembley – and the disappointment suffered by the players and the supporters, we had to achieve promotion.”
Mark said everyone at the Club was driven to reach the second tier.
“Everyone relished that challenge,” he said.
“They were incentivised in a number of ways.
“We have a great group of players and high quality staff.
“They were driven and we achieved the goal.”
After 11 games Brentford were in mid-table.
Following defeat at Stevenage in early October they were 11th in the table, 14 points behind leaders Leyton Orient.
But, with the return from injury of Jonathan Douglas and Jake Bidwell and the loan signing of Kadeem Harris from Cardiff City acting as a catalyst, Brentford climbed the table.
They next lost a League One match in mid-February and eventually finished eight points ahead of Orient, who ended the season in third.
Mark – who started the campaign as Sporting Director before taking over as Brentford Manager in December – said the players weren’t concerned about their position early in the season.
He praised the way they kicked on after beating Colchester United, Bristol City and Shrewsbury Town in seven days to win promotion.
“The mood was fine after the start,” said Mark.
“The players realised the quality we had.
“But we looked at the table and realised improvements had to be made.
“We went on a fantastic run and the players deserve credit for that.
“Jake came back and provided balance, Dougie came in with his knowhow and experience after injury and has been fantastic, the right loan players came in at the right time.
“The players got renewed confidence from three wins in a week.
“They kicked on really well and the run was incredible.”
Mark Warburton’s full end-of-season interview is available on Bees Player.