Smith: Villa clash a big test for Brentford

Brentford boss Dean Smith is under no illusions about the challenge which awaits in Wednesday’s Championship clash at Aston Villa.

The Bees find themselves in the upper echelons of the table after an unbeaten start, like their more-vaunted opponents.

And Smith anticipates a difficult night at Villa Park against Steve Bruce’s side, who are pushing for automatic promotion.

“This is a team that got 90-odd points last year and didn’t get promoted,” Smith said.

“They lost in the (play-off) final against Fulham. They had a very good season and were very unfortunate.

“They lost some big players – John Terry, (Robert) Snodgrass, Sam Johnstone the goalkeeper – but they’ve replaced them well and started the season where they left off last season, similar to ourselves. It’s going to be a very tough game.”

Smith insists Brentford have not revised their targets for the campaign after wins over Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday, plus a draw with Stoke.

He added: “We don’t change our expectations. The players want to keep getting better, so they’ll keep pushing each other.

“Every game we go into we try and win. The players will keep doing that.”