Smith: Carsley chat inspired win over MK Dons

New Brentford head coach Dean Smith praised the influence of predecessor Lee Carsley after the victory over MK Dons on Saturday.

Smith arrived from Walsall this week and goals from Lasse Vibe and Alan Judge got his reign as Bees boss off to a winning start.

Carsley had taken temporary charge of the team since Marinus Dijkhuizen’s sacking in late September and oversaw a big improvement in results and league position.

And Smith said: “This win is down to the work that Lee Carsley has put in as well as myself, I’ve only been here two days.

“I went out for dinner with Lee on Thursday night and we talked about different players.

“We won’t be changing too much. We’ll try and drip feed a few of our ideas. But they’re good footballers here who know how to play.

“We want to play a certain way and the lads buy into that.”

Smith was particularly impressed with the intensity of his side both with and without the ball in the win over a lacklustre MK Dons.

He added: “The work rate today was exceptional. If they keep that up they’ve every chance of being successful as a team.

“I thought the performance was excellent. I tried to stress to the players this week that it’s about the performance, and the result usually follows that.”