Brentford Manager Uwe Rösler said he was “very happy” with his team’s 3-1 Boxing Day win against Colchester United.
The Bees were 2-0 up inside the first 15 minutes thanks to goals from Marcello Trotta and Adam Forshaw and Colchester defender Josh Thompson had been sent off for denying Clayton Donaldson a clear goal scoring opportunity.
Uwe described the opening as perfect but said it had perhaps gone too well.
Speaking after the final whistle he said his players got sloppy and attacked too quickly.
Colchester pulled one back and Tom Adeyemi was sent off for two bookable offences but Harlee Dean scored late on to seal the win and keep The Bees third in npower League One.
Uwe said it was a result that proved his team have what it takes to go the distance at the top of the table and a fully deserved three points.
“I said to the players that we had to show it to ourselves and to our supporters that we have what it takes to stay up the top of the table permanently,” said Uwe.
“You saw that today.
“We started fantastically.
“Perhaps we started too well.
“The two goals came too early and we felt we had already won the game.
“We got a little sloppy.
“I felt we didn’t wait long enough to find the right time to attack.
“We gave away our man advantage, that was totally unnecessary.
“Second half I felt we were the better team.
“They had some quick wingers but there were not many chances.
“We used one of ours.
“Overall, I am very happy.
“We have a 3-1 win away from home, under difficult circumstances.”
Uwe said referee Gavin Ward produced yellow cards too quickly early on and set a standard that led to a red card for Tom Adeyemi.
The Brentford boss said Tom would learn from the dismissal.
“The referee set the bar too high too early,” said Uwe.
“If you throw yellow cards around like that, someone will get a red card.
“The referee is a young man; he needs to be more careful.
“Tom knew he was on a yellow.
“I told all the players that in wet conditions, if you go down, challenges look worse.
“You get more pace on your tackle.
“He wanted to clear the ball; he made the tackle with the best intentions.
“He is a great lad and I want to keep him.
“He will learn.
“We got away with it.
“We dug in, looked solid, got the third goal and the game was over.”
Uwe hailed the way his team saw the game out in a professional manner after half time.
“We didn’t use the ball as well as we could after we went 2-0 up,” he said.
“I think we thought the game was won.
“They went in to half time with a bit of momentum, with the teams being equal in numbers.
“We had to get more compact, protect our two central midfield players and hit on the break.
“It worked well.
“They went in with a good momentum after a disappointing start.
“We did the right things in the second half.
“It was a professional job, we deserved the three points.”
The Bees have a game in hand on the teams above them in League One – Tranmere Rovers and Sheffield United – and would go top if they win it.
Uwe said he was taking one game at a time and stressed that Brentford had achieve nothing for being third at the mid-way point of the season.
The Bees face Shrewsbury Town in Shropshire on Saturday and Uwe said there would be fresh legs brought in.
“I take each game as it comes,” he said.
“I need to keep the team and the squad going.
“We can’t rest, we have not achieved anything.
“I said to the players we are in a great position.
“We only need to worry about us.
“We believe in our squad.
“Some new players will come in for Shrewsbury.
“There will be fresh legs.
“The win today takes pressure off going to Shrewsbury.”
Bees Player subscribers can see a full video interview with Uwe Rösler here.