Brentford manager Keith Andrews believes his side's hard-fought 2-0 win over Bournemouth in the League Cup second round will help silence the doubters.
The Bees were among the pre-season favourites for relegation from the Premier League after losing Thomas Frank, Bryan Mbeumo and captain Christian Norgaard, but new coach Andrews has now won two of his first three games in charge.
He said: “These games are very early in the season and it's important to look after fitness levels and make sure everyone is fully prepared.
“I think that’s been evident in the games in general over the last couple of weekends, so it’s important to get the squads going for that reason.
“There were some tough decisions to make at the weekend before the Villa game. Players who weren't involved would have been disappointed and today's game shows what we have as a club, as a team.
“We have a real unity and I am very pleased with many of the performances tonight.
“Some players who returned from long-term injuries had to go through a difficult road.
“It’s not easy when you can’t play and do what you love, so with Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey and (Igor) Thiago and his goal today there were positives.
We defended incredibly well again and used the basic techniques of the game, which I am sure will bring results. We scored two good goals.
“In fact, there has probably been some agitation around the club in recent weeks and months, and I can understand that to some extent, given the departures of staff and players.
“But people don't realize what's happening day in and day out.”
Fabio Carvalho put Brentford ahead 11 minutes before the break, closing in after Kristoffer Ajer's header from Henry's cross was cleared and then firing home at the far post.
Substitute Thiago doubled Brentford's lead in the 65th minute after some poor defending from Bournemouth.
Frank Onyeka robbed Alex Scott deep in his own half before setting up Carvalho for a shot inside the box and drawing three Bournemouth defenders to the ball before setting up Thiago for the finish.
Bournemouth were reduced to ten men in stoppage time when Julian Araujo received a second yellow card for a late lunge on Thiago.
The hosts' head coach Andoni Iraola, who made eight changes to the starting line-up, said: “When you make changes and they don't work, I'm the one to blame.
“To succeed in these competitions you need to be very prepared, and we showed that we were not prepared.
“We have a few players that are not in the position that we want them to be. They need minutes, and they can only improve and get better with minutes.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
